Tangled Up In You
by Vinnie K
Summary: A hero can appear in the most unlikely form. A McSexie story. Contains abuse. Complete.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** This story is named after the Staind song of the same name. Credit goes to Staind for it. Characters aren't owned by me, but are owned by ABC and Shonda. All I own is a crazy mind.

**A/N:** This is just an idea I came up with and hasn't left me ever since. I wasn't planning on posting this; in all honesty, I was worried on how people would take it. It's certainly AU.

This is just a prologue. Chapters will increase in length. Please, opinions are welcomed. Let me know what you think.

- Vin

* * *

She looked at herself.

Her critical eyes flew across her reflection.

She wasn't ugly. She frowned, her eyes narrowing. She wasn't ugly. Her angelic features had brought her success in romantic endeavours before, she knew that. Men were attracted to her, to her intelligence and humour, to her bubbly personality, as well as to her body. She wasn't ugly. No, with her delicate features and large, innocent brown eyes, she was definitely anything but ugly.

He had been lying.

Yes, he had lied to her. Again. When he told her–shouted at her–threw her mother's vase at her head, she knew he had been lying. She was beautiful. She was intelligent. She was loved. Despite what he said.

Looking at her face, pale, translucent under the unforgiving white light, she sighed softly. Mechanically her hand reached for the handle of the bathroom cabinet. Cold metal against her sore hand, she began taking out the necessary items as if she was at work.

The brown liquid screamed against her skin, the soaked wool burning the jagged lines across her fingertips. The cut on her temple protested violently when she cleaned around the wound. The tear in her skin cried as she punched through the needle, carefully suturing the cut.

She was getting better at it; she had had plenty of practice to perfect the fine weave of stitches. She wondered, briefly, if Dr. Yang would be impressed, that she could suture her own face with such precision.

After finishing, she carefully placed away all the components that had helped her clean her lie. She looked down, peering closely at her hands. Not deep enough. Plasters would be sufficient enough she realized and so looked back into the cabinet. Of course, she realized dully, there weren't any plasters.

She sighed, shutting the small door. Once again, she was faced with the mirrored surface. For a moment, she admired her surgical stitches. Then, she admired her almost flawless skin and worn, bright eyes.

She wasn't ugly. She had been a Prom Queen. She wasn't stupid. She was a Harvard graduate. She was loved. She _wasn't_ a mistake.

He had lied.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything but a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Firstly, let me say that I was astonished by the response I got for the prologue. I couldn't believe it; nothing I've done has ever been received so well! Thank you so much to everyone who read, reviewed, added this story, or me, to their alerts or favourites. It really means a bunch! Secondly, I hope this chapter is equally liked. As this is my first Greys story, I'm finding it difficult to keep them in character. Please, let me know if I can improve in any way. Thirdly, let me know what you think, as always!

- Vin

* * *

Cracking her bedroom door open, Lexie peered out. She hadn't heard any noises. It was in her mind, she told herself for what felt like the hundredth time. Quietly closing the door, she turned to scan her room. There was nothing else she needed.

Lexie tried to find something else, something else she could pick up, anything to prolong her stay in the safe house that was her bedroom. Unable to find a reason to stay in the room, Lexie sighed and turned around. She stared at the door. It shouldn't be this hard. She was going to work. She was going to save lives. No, she was going to work to do charting and clinic duty.

She attempted to remain calm. He would be asleep. Asleep, not awake. Asleep was safe. She was fine. Fine. Taking a deep breath, Lexie walked to the door and opened it. She walked down the hallway quietly and then cautiously down the stairs. Silence. He was definitely still asleep.

Releasing the breath she didn't realize she had been holding, Lexie hitched her bag higher on her shoulder and darted to the front door.

"Lexie?"

The sound of his voice made her jump. Slowly, she turned around. He was standing a few steps behind her, clad in the clothes he wore yesterday, at the bottom of the steps. Clearly, he hadn't been asleep.

"Morning," she said, her voice soft. She nodded her head towards the door behind her. "I was just on my way to work."

Squinting at her, still not fully aware of where he was, he spoke in a raspy voice. "You look different."

Lexie smiled brightly, "I look the same. You've just woken up; you're a bit confused that's all."

He frowned. "I'm not confused."

Lexie softened, "I know you aren't, dad."

Thatcher walked closer to her, his eyes fixing on the mark above her eyebrow. "You're hurt."

"I know," Lexie replied quietly, her eyes focusing on anything but the man in front of her. She looked at her watch and sighed. She glanced up at Thatcher and smiled gently. "I really have to get to work. If I'm late Dr. Yang will kill me, and probably put me on clinic duty and although she probably will do it anyway, I don't want to give her a reason to _actually_ do it."

He was still staring at her, his eyes trailing over her face, a look of mystification on his face. Lexie sighed; she didn't have time for this. He never remembered.

Turning around, Lexie opened the front door, not bothering looking back at him. "See you later, dad."

* * *

Mark walked down the hallway and his eyes automatically narrowed on the woman standing at the nurse's station, frantically writing.

"Dr. Grey," Mark drawled as he came up behind Lexie at the desk.

Startled, Lexie's head shot up. Noticing who it was, she swallowed nervously, before tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Looking down at the chart on the desk, Lexie tried to focus on the charting she had to complete. "Dr. Sloan," she said calmly. "What can I do for you?"

Mark noticed her sharp intake of breath and her overly nervous front. He also noticed the cut above her eyebrow. Casually, he leaned against the desk, carefully observing her. "What's wrong with your face?"

Lexie quickly glanced up before looking back down at the writing before her. "Is that your way in telling me I look ugly today, Dr. Sloan?"

"No, that's me, telling you that you have a suture on your face." When she didn't reply, and instead continued to scribble down notes in the chart, Mark continued. "You sutured your own face didn't you?" He peered closer at the weave of lines. "Interrupted, one eighth apart?"

Lexie looked up, her eyes wide. "How did you know that?"

Mark smirked slightly, though it held resemblance to a small smile. "I'm the best plastic surgeon this hospital has ever seen. I think I'd know what suture you used...Now, what's wrong with your face?"

Lexie chuckled lightly and shook her head, "Nothing is wrong with my face, Dr. Sloan. I have a cut, a small cut, that shouldn't go under 'something's wrong with your face.'"

Mark shrugged, "Fine. I just thought the interns had stop self-harming. Clearly, you haven't. Just moved up in the ranks to faces now."

Lexie tensed slightly before letting out a breath. She turned to look up at Mark, before glancing back down. Once she was sure nothing else had to be done with it, Lexie grabbed it, along with the others she had to finish, and began to walk away. She paused and turned to look over her shoulder, "We were practising, Dr. Sloan. Because no-one cared enough to teach us. We were not self-harming...not in the way everyone thought we were. And I haven't been doing either to my face."

With that, Lexie turned and walked away, leaving Mark to stare after her, his curiosity higher than ever.

Soon enough, he found himself in step with her, walking down the hallway in the direction of the elevators.

"Something you need, Dr. Sloan?" Lexie asked as she tried to remain calm, although his presence, his scent, was having a profound effect on her.

"If you aren't suturing with the crazy interns again, then why the need for the suture?"

Lexie stopped, her face displaying how stupid she thought he was. "Ever thought I needed to suture myself because I have a deep enough cut that required one?"

Mark narrowed his eyes, "Don't look at me like that." He carried on walking alongside her, and then spoke again. "I thought you said it was a 'small cut.'"

"A small, deep cut. Small in length, deep in...Depth."

"Walked into a door?"

Lexie flustered briefly at how his voice had adopted a dry, mocking tone. She stated defiantly, "My closet door, actually. Though...It is none of your business, Dr. Sloan, so I don't understand why we are even having this conversation."

Mark made a sound of acknowledgement and wondered why he was even bothering her. It wasn't as if he cared about why she had a cut, he just saw it as another opportunity to tease and mock her. Then, why was he putting in so much effort to talk to her about it? Mark frowned slightly, and tensed, annoyed that he was questioning his own actions. He rarely did that.

Luckily for both of them, they had reached the elevators and by the time Mark could open his mouth to speak again, the doors had opened and Lexie had rushed on, jabbing the close button until the doors did just that.

* * *

Picking up the charts off the floor, Lexie stood up in the cramped supply closet. Originally, she had been annoyed that Cristina had placed her on charting duty–she was only late by three and a half minutes–but after a day of relative peace, Lexie wasn't as annoyed. She had got the chance to escape from the noisy interns and moody residents. Overall, it had been good. Except for when Dr. Sloan felt the need to question her.

Cristina hadn't noticed, neither had Sadie when she rushed past her earlier. It had to be him. Lexie shook her head slightly, and held the charts closer to her chest. He was an observant man, it was just unlucky for her that he was also an annoyingly persistent man, too.

When Lexie walked out of the closet, heading towards the surgical floor to drop off the charts, she heard a voice shout her name.

"Hey, Lexie!"

Lexie turned around to see her fellow intern jogging towards her. She smiled her first real smile of the day. "Hey, Sadie."

Sadie fell into step with her and the two carried walking in the direction of the surgical floor. "I noticed the suture."

"I haven't been practicing on myself, if that's what you're about to ask," Lexie said, annoyed before Sadie got the chance to continue.

Sadie shook her head, "I just wanted to know if you were okay."

Lexie smiled, embarrassed. "I'm sorry; I just thought you would give me a lecture, like everyone else."

"Everyone else?"

"Well, not everyone, just Dr. Sloan."

That piqued Sadie's interests. "Sloan, eh? He's concerned about you hurting yourself? Why, isn't that sweet..."

Lexie shook her head, laughing slightly. "No, not sweet. Annoying. Very annoying."

"The man cares about you, Lexie. Let him."

Lexie frowned and stopped walking. "What do you mean by that? He doesn't _care_ about me, he's mean to me, he calls me pathetic. He certainly does _not_ care about me."

Sadie rolled her eyes. "You're so oblivious, Grey."

"To what?"

Sadie simply shook her head, and wrapped her arm around Lexie's shoulders. "To you, Lexie. To the power you have over that man."

"You're crazy."

Sadie laughed, "I know."

They continued to walk and soon enough came into contact with the man they had been discussing. Mark was standing at nurse's station and looked up from his conversation with Callie to stare at the two. Lexie suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze.

When he had turned away from them after a moment, Sadie whispered to Lexie, "Don't act as if you didn't feel that."

"Feel what?" Lexie asked, her voice shaky.

"The passion, the intensity, the need for sex!"

Lexie's eyes bulged and she whirled around to face Sadie. "Excuse me?"

"The passion, the–"

"I heard you. I heard you; I just don't think it's appropriate to say that Dr. Sloan looks at me as if he needs sex. He's our attending and to say that, it's, it's rude and uncalled and..." Lexie trailed off when she noticed Mark and Callie had turned around to look at them. She swallowed hard, finding it hard to breathe under his stare.

Sadie smirked, her eyes fluttering over Callie's body. "And you were saying?"

"Shut up!" Lexie squeaked before turning on her heel and stalking off to the supply closet.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the incredible response! I'm having trouble comprehending how many people are enjoying this. Just to mention something, before I forget: although this is AU, I do tend to mention things that have happened, e.g. – the whole 'no hot intern' thing, but that doesn't mean this follows the sequence of events the show does. If that makes sense?

Anyway, I hope this is okay. Sorry that it's shorter than the last! Let me know what you think (:

- Vin

* * *

Mark watched as Lexie's face paled and she swiftly turned and hurried in the opposite direction. It was odd, _she_ was odd, and Mark frowned, wondering where she would go when it was clear she had to hand in the charts she was holding.

He continued to watch as Sadie turned and paused, before shaking her head slightly and continuing forward to the nurse's station. He narrowed his eyes in thought. Wouldn't Sadie want to follow her?

"Mark?"

Mark looked down to see Callie looking up at him, a frown marring her features too. "Interns are strange," he said in a gruff voice.

Callie laughed slightly, "Yeah..." Her eyes trailed from Mark to look over his shoulder. Sadie was watching her from the opposite side of the station. Callie's eyes widened and she quickly shuffled so that Mark's frame was covering hers.

Mark frowned. "What the Hell are you doing?"

"Hot, crazy, strange intern!" Callie whispered harshly, as she cautiously craned her neck upwards to see if Sadie was paying her any attention.

She was.

Mark rolled his eyes. "No hot interns," he said lightly, not fully caring.

"I'm trying!" Callie protested, now staring at Mark's chest intensely.

Mark sighed and looked over to the end of the hallway. "No hot interns," he murmured again. Abruptly, he began walking away, leaving Callie exposed to Sadie, who was watching her.

Callie's eyes widened and she turned to see Mark walking away, down the hallway, in the direction of the elevators. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it. Glancing from the corner of her eye, Callie saw Sadie smirking at her.

"Oh, God..."

* * *

Lexie had been leaning against the door for five minutes now. She knew that as she had been counting steadily in her mind. It was a technique she used sometimes at night, when she was alone in the dark. It would help her remain calm, allowing her to focus on something that wasn't the noises coming from down the hallway.

The charts that she had been holding now lay scattered at her feet and Lexie brought her hand up to look at her watch. She groaned, her shift was ending in ten minutes and she still had to hand in the charts. Although she knew she should leave the closet and get on with her task, Lexie couldn't face leaving.

She was being crazy, she knew that, but she figured if she left, she would run straight into Dr. Sloan. At this moment, she couldn't handle that. Lexie silently cursed Sadie for her inappropriate comments.

Biting her bottom lip, Lexie closed her eyes and continued to count down the seconds. _One...two...three...four...five..._She let out a steady breath. She would leave soon. She was calm, she was ready. _Six...seven...eight...nine..._No one would notice. She was after all, just an intern. Who really paid attention to the frantic interns rushing around?

_Ten...eleven...twelve..._

"Ah!"

Lexie yelped as the door pushed against her back and she quickly moved so that the door could open fully without squashing her in the process. Her eyes widened as Mark stood in the doorway.

"Were you leaning against the door?" He asked accusingly and Lexie shook her head.

"No, Dr. Sloan. Well, er, yes, actually, I was...But I, er, didn't think anyone would, would want to...open it," she said, trailing off quietly.

Mark rolled his eyes. "It's a supply closet. People come in here, all the time, for supplies." He sighed irritably, forgetting that it was Lexie in front of him. "Interns..."

Lexie swallowed nervously and fidgeted with her hands until she realized the charts were still scattered on the floor. She quickly looked down and then back up at Mark. He looked at her, slyly glancing to the floor. He smirked, "Messy aren't you, Grey?"

Immediately, she blushed and dropped to the floor. Hurriedly, she began collecting the charts, carefully stacking them in her arms. Mark watched her for a moment before sighing. Without really knowing why, he crouched down and picked up a chart, holding it up to her.

Lexie had collected all the charts now and slowly turned to look at him. She blushed under his stare and held out her hand. When he smirked at her, showing no intention of handing her the file, Lexie huffed. "Dr. Sloan."

"Yes, Dr. Grey?"

"I need that chart."

He nodded, "I'm sure you do." His eyes twinkled and he waved it side-to-side. "Ask nicely."

Lexie rolled her eyes, "May I have the patient's chart, Dr. Sloan?"

He leaned closer and when he did, he noticed she moved back automatically. "Say please. Do you interns have no manners?"

Lexie's jaw clenched involuntarily and her voice adopted an overly sweet voice. "May I _please_ have the patient's chart, Dr. Sloan?"

Mark grinned, "Good, Little Grey." Suddenly, he stood up, the patient's chart still in his hand. Turning on his heel, he opened the closet door and walked out, a smirk on his face.

Lexie stayed where she was for a beat, unsure of what had just happened, before she scrambled to her feet and chased after him. She saw him walking towards the nurse's station and quickly jogged up behind him. "Dr. Sloan!"

Mark placed the chart on the desk and turned to face her. "Dr. Grey," he replied calmly.

"Y-You, you just left!" She panted, trying to regain her breath. "Why would you do that? You said you'd give it back to me if I asked nicely!"

Mark glanced to the side at Olivia who was sitting behind the desk, indiscreetly looking at the pair. He looked at Lexie, his gaze firm. "I thought I'd do you a favor." With that, he walked past her, not bothering to turn around.

Olivia had been watching and when she noticed the perplexed look on Lexie's voice, she spoke in a cheery voice. "Do you want me to take those charts off you, Dr. Grey?"

Lexie looked at the redhead in surprise. "Oh, er, yes," she said, quickly placing the charts on the desk. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," Olivia beamed. And then, "Is everything okay with you and Dr. Sloan?"

Lexie blushed. "Er, everything's fine, thanks."

Unwilling to stay another second with the prying nurse, Lexie mumbled a goodbye and left in the direction of the intern locker room. Her shift had ended, and she was going to go home and forget about Mark Sloan.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the reviews and story alerts. This is once again a short chapter, but I'd like people to know that I'm building up to something really good (: Let me know what you think, as always!

- Vin

* * *

The next morning, Lexie had arrived at the hospital twenty minutes before she was due to go to rounds. This way Cristina had no reason to sentence her to meaningless tasks as organizing charts.

Already dressed in her scrubs, and already restless, Lexie wandered down the halls. She wondered briefly where Meredith was, but then the thought left as soon as it came. As she walked past the elevators, Lexie's thoughts turned to George. She didn't know why, but she found herself wondering about him time to time.

Normally, it would be after an argument with her father. At those moments, she wished she had him with her. Although she knew he didn't like her in the way she wanted–his loss, she now thought–Lexie found herself cry herself to sleep, wishing she had her best friend–_only_ friend–here, to talk to. If George hadn't left, if he didn't transfer to another hospital, then maybe her secret wouldn't be a secret anymore.

She would have told George, she had to believe that. The only reason she hadn't told anyone was because there was no-one to tell. No-one cared. Not like George.

Lexie knew that if George hadn't left…She wouldn't have had to move out; she would still be with George, under his safety. She wouldn't feel so scared every day.

Lexie sighed, it wasn't George's fault. It was…Lexie immediately frowned, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. Who was to blame? Was it her father's fault for hurting her? The barman's for not stopping the amount of alcohol her father consumed? Was it her fault for not being stronger, more willing to fight him off? Her mother's for not fighting harder to stay alive? Meredith's for killing her mother?

There were a lot of people she could blame. But she knew passing the blame around wouldn't benefit anyone. Lexie sighed as she walked down the hallway towards the intern locker room. She was at work and shouldn't be thinking about this. She needed to be sharp, alert. Worrying and over-thinking her situation would get her nowhere.

Pushing the door open to the intern locker room, Lexie was greeted by the sight of Sadie sitting on one of the benches, her head down while she tied her laces. "Hey," she said, and smiled lightly when Sadie looked up at her.

"Hey there, Lexie," Sadie smiled. "How's the head?"

"Oh," Lexie gently touched the cut. "Oh, it's fine," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

Sadie nodded and stood up, going to stand in front of her locker. She turned to face Lexie. "Where d'you think we'll be dumped today?"

"Dumped?"

"By Cristina," Sadie clarified, smirking at the thought of their resident. "I'm betting she sentences me to the clinic."

"Oh." Lexie shrugged, coming up to stand next to Sadie. She leant against the block of lockers. "Depends on what mood she's in…"

Sadie nodded. "I don't get why she's still so uptight." Sadie grinned. "You'd think she was getting enough sex to release all her frustrations."

Lexie's eyes widened. "Dr. Y-Yang?"

Sadie rolled her eyes, and lightly shoved Lexie. "You must know!" When Lexie made no indication to show that she did know, Sadie sighed dramatically. "Dr. Hunt and Cristina!"

Lexie's mouth fell open. "Seriously?"

Sadie grinned deviously. "Seriously. I don't blame her, he's kinda hot."

Lexie blushed, "He's our teacher. We shouldn't talk about him like that! And, and, if Dr. Yang knew we were discussing her love life, she would…" Lexie thought about it for a moment and then said triumphantly, "She'd kill us and make it look like an accident."

Sadie laughed, and shut her locker. "You're over-reacting, Lexie." Moving away from the lockers, Sadie nodded her head in the direction of the door, indicating that they should make their way to meet Cristina and the other interns.

The two exited the locker room and after a moment, Sadie glanced at Lexie from the corner of her eye. She grinned. "You know who else is kinda hot…"

Lexie glanced warily at Sadie. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like where this is going?"

"Dr. Sloan," Sadie beamed. "He isn't even 'kinda hot', he's hot."

Lexie shook her head, smiling slightly. "He's our attending, Sadie…"

"So? Doesn't mean I can't look, doesn't mean _we_ can't look. And appreciate."

"It's inappropriate," Lexie reminded her as they came closer to the group of interns waiting for Cristina.

"He is named McSteamy for a reason," Sadie reminded her in a voice that showed her hunger for the man.

Lexie blushed and laughed slightly, unable to do anything else. Last night she had told herself she wouldn't think about Mark, however as she lay in bed that night, carefully listening out for noises, she drifted into thoughts about the one man she should _not_ be thinking about.

Her thoughts of him had been varying. She wondered why he acted the way he did, she wondered why he chose Plastics and she was even more curious to whether or not he had loved Addison. Lexie had heard things about the two, and the curiosity had never quite left Lexie. She had fallen asleep last night to a restless, dreamless sleep, but when she awoke her mind had unwillingly floated back to Mark. And Addison.

Once they arrived to greet their fellow interns, Cristina had arrived a moment later. In a hurry, they flew down the halls, doing the rounds in a rush. Afterwards, Cristina assigned people to various departments.

She had missed out Lexie.

Cautiously approaching Cristina, who had now taken a seat at the nurse's station, Lexie fidgeted with her hands. "Er, Dr. Yang?"

Cristina looked up at Lexie, her disinterest clear in her black eyes. "What?"

"Y-You, er, didn't tell me where to go…"

Cristina rolled her eyes, and looked back at her computer screen. "Just go to Plastics."

When Lexie made a sound of protest, Cristina glanced back up, her eyebrow raised. "Shoo!"

Rolling her eyes, Lexie reluctantly walked in the direction of Plastics. Although she found the surgeries interesting, Lexie wasn't prepared to have a showdown with Mark. Though, it would hardly be a showdown. It would be more along the lines of him mocking her and her simply accepting it.

Lexie groaned when she saw him come out a patient's. Putting on her brightest smile, Lexie straightened her back and bounced over to him. "Excuse me, Dr. Sloan?"

Mark looked down at her and smirked. "Why, isn't it Little Grey."

Lexie laughed slightly. "Yes, it's me. Er, Dr. Yang assigned me to your case…"

Mark nodded, handing her the patient's chart. "Read that. We're still waiting for an OR."

Lexie accepted the chart and quickly started looking over it. She looked up in shock, "You're performing a tympanoplasty?"

Mark looked at her, slightly annoyed and slightly amused. "Yes. That _is_ what it says, Grey."

Lexie laughed nervously, "Er, sorry, it's just I've never seen one. I've read about it of course, and although it's a reasonably simple procedure, 'cause I know it has over a 90% success rate for the surgery–" Lexie paused when she saw Mark raise his eyebrow. "Er, I read it somewhere. Photographic memory. I just…I would really like to actually see how this is done…"

Mark looked at her, deadpanned. "You want to scrub in?"

"If, if you don't mind…"

Although nervous, her eyes showed her determination and there was something in her eyes that made Mark cave every time she asked him something. He didn't know what it was, why he was so enthralled by her, but there was just…

"Fine," he barked. "But don't get in the way."

Abruptly he turned and walked in the opposite direction, leaving Lexie to smile after him. She knew she was meant to be forgetting about him, but it seemed as if they were constantly being thrown together. Lexie grinned as she made her way into the patient's room to do a quick check up. She was excited about being able to scrub in. Her smile had nothing to do with Dr. Sloan.

Of course not.


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the reviews and story alerts. I'm glad people are sticking with this story (: Let me know what you think!

- Vin

* * *

Lexie was still smiling as she entered the patient's room. Her eyes fell on the man sitting up in the bed. From reading his chart she knew that he was twenty-five, Caucasian and had injured his eardrum after an injury on the football field. From reading his chart, what she _didn't_ know was that he had striking features in the form of bright blue eyes, tanned skin and a strong jaw line.

When he looked up at her she grinned, and spoke in a loud voice. "I'm Dr. Grey, how are you feeling today, Mr. Roy?"

The man looked at her and grinned. "No need to shout, Dr."

"Oh!" Lexie looked down at his chart. She frowned, "I thought the damage to your eardrum was…"

"It isn't that severe," the man said, enjoying the sight of the flustered doctor. He tilted his head to side, looking her up and down. "Shouldn't you know that?"

Lexie snapped shut the chart and held it against her chest. "I, er, should…yes, I'm sorry Mr. Roy."

He held up his hand, "Please, it's Henry." He smiled gently at her as she blushed and rounded the bed, checking his vitals. "You're an intern, aren't you?"

Lexie quickly looked at him and smiled before looking down at his chart. "Yes, I am."

Henry nodded. "Harvard."

Lexie looked up from taking notes in his chart to give him a quizzical look. "I'm sorry?"

"You went to Harvard, didn't you?" Henry smiled, and raised his hand to indicate at her.

A small, unexpected laugh burst from her lips. "How do you know that?"

Henry titled his head to the side. "I recognize you."

"I'm sorry, I don't…"

"Countway Library," Henry stated. "Bottom floor, by the row of computers at the back. I remember you sitting on that floor reading a book on Neurofibromatosis, or something smart like that."

Lexie stopped writing in his chart, flipped it shut and stared at the man in front of her. Although she had a photographic memory, he wasn't imprinted into it. She frowned slightly trying to place him in her many memories of that library and her semi-regular place on that section of floor. Lexie shrugged, "I-I'm sorry, but I don't recall…"

"Don't worry about it," Henry grinned, flashing his set of perfect white teeth. "We never met, not properly. I never worked up the nerve to interrupt your reading. After the first time I saw you, I was only there for another couple of months. I dropped out."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you…"

"School of Public Health," Henry smiled slightly at the memory. "But then I realized I didn't care much about biostatistics."

Lexie smiled slightly. "I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet sooner."

Henry nodded, his eyes steady on hers. "Me too."

Lexie opened her mouth to reply, when the door opened and Mark's voice alerted them to his presence. "Dr. Grey, prep Mr. Roy for surgery. An OR just opened up."

Mark glanced between the two, noticing the look the patient had on his face as he stared at Lexie. Mark found him curious and slightly annoyed at the…lustful look on the man's face. Was that even the correct word? Mark didn't know, but he was glad he interrupted when he did.

Lexie nodded, "Okay, Dr. Sloan."

Mark glanced at Henry. "How are you feeling, Mr. Roy?"

Henry watched as Lexie for a moment and then turned to face his surgeon. He noted the look on Dr. Sloan's face and grinned. "Great, Dr. Sloan. You've got a good one, here."

Mark looked over to Lexie who blushed. Mark nodded curtly, "She's good when she isn't being so pathetic."

And with that, Mark turned on his heel and left the room. Henry watched as Lexie opened her mouth and then shut it again, shaking her head slightly. "You're used to that?" Henry enquired, wondering why Lexie had suddenly become so quiet.

"I'm an intern," she replied. "We've been called worse, trust me."

"I guess…" Henry shrugged, "I just don't think it should be allowed. You're still a human being."

Lexie laughed lightly, "I'm sure you've been called worse on the football field."

"Oh, yes, I have." He beamed at the thought, "I've called men worse names too."

Lexie finished up her task and then backed away from Henry, his chart held against her chest. "I'm finished now. One of the nurses will take you into surgery briefly."

"Shouldn't you be the one wheeling me in?"

The way he had said it, so teasingly, Lexie found herself hot in the cheeks. "Er, yes, I normally would but…I kinda want, need, to be in the OR early."

Henry laughed, "So that you don't annoy Dr. Sloan?"

"Got it in one."

"Alright, fine. I'll see you when I get out, then."

Lexie smiled at the hopeful tinge his voice adopted. "I'll see you then."

She moved across the room and opened the door. Just before she was about to leave, his voice floated to her ears. "I look forward to it!"

Lexie smiled slightly and shut the door behind her.

* * *

"Dr. Grey," Mark drawled as he stepped up to the surgical table. He looked down at Henry and then at Lexie who was standing opposite him. "Are you ready?"

Lexie looked at him defiantly, knowing that he was smirking underneath his mask. "Of course, Dr. Sloan."

"Alright…" Mark picked up the scalpel and carefully made an incision so that he could access the tissue under the skin around the ear to make a graft for the eardrum. As he worked, Mark couldn't help the question from escaping him. "So, where do you know him from?"

Lexie peered closer to get a better look at the reconstruction. "We went to the same school," she replied, not really concentrating on his questions.

"High school sweethearts?" Mark asked airily.

Lexie looked at him in surprise, but then glanced back down. "No, Dr. Sloan. College friends…" She paused then, realizing that she hadn't even talked to him during her years at Harvard. "Actually, I, I hardly knew him…"

Mark nodded and continued to work, not entirely sure what Lexie meant. After a while, he spoke again. "He likes you."

Lexie didn't look up. "I'm a nice person; I would hope patient's liked me."

Mark couldn't help but chuckle. "You know what I meant."

"No, I don't actually, Dr. Sloan," Lexie replied calmly as she continued to crane her neck over Henry so that she could see what was happening.

"Unlike some people, you aren't that oblivious, Grey." Mark looked up at her and was finally greeted by her gaze on his. A small frown marred her features and Mark sighed, before looking down. For some reason, he was annoyed that he was talking about this. It was none of his business. They were in surgery, he should be teaching her, not enquiring on her non-existent relationship with the patient.

"Well, I'm going to pretend that I don't know what you're talking about," Lexie replied.

He had been right, she wasn't oblivious. Although Lexie realized Henry had been flirting with her–or something along those lines–she didn't want to discuss this with Mark, of all people. There was no reason why he needed to know how she felt over the fact that Henry may fancy her. The thought made her flush with color, and Lexie was glad for her surgical mask.

"That's not very nice, Dr. Grey," Mark said lightly.

"Enquiring about my relationship with a patient isn't very nice either, Dr. Sloan."

Mark grinned at her response. "Would you like me to apologize, Grey?"

"That would be nice," Lexie replied, knowing that he wouldn't.

"Get over here."

Lexie's head shot up and she stared at him. "Excuse me?"

Mark continued to work on Henry as he spoke again. "Move around the table and come here so you can rim the perforation."

Lexie continued to stare at him in shock, this was his apology? If this was the way he would apologize, Lexie made a mental note to appear offended more often.

Mark stopped working and looked at her. "If you prefer learning from a textbook, then be my guest, but if you're really interested in reconstruction…"

"Oh, yes, sorry!" Lexie suddenly jerked into life and rushed around the table, eager to help perform such a delicate surgery. Taking the Rosen Needle and cup forceps from him, Lexie carefully placed the instruments where she thought she would need to make the incision.

Mark nodded, "Make your incision."

Lexie smiled as she carefully made a circular incision on the margins of the perforation. Despite her feelings towards him–and what exactly were those feelings, Lexie found herself wondering–Lexie was glad he was giving her this opportunity. Not many surgeons would.

Once she had finished, Mark stepped closer to observe. "Good, Grey. Do you know how to elevate the ear canal skin flap?"

"Of course, sir," Lexie replied and looked up, silently asking for permission to continue.

"Show me."

Lexie nearly squealed in delight when she turned to the surgical nurse and asked for an Austen Duckbill knife. As she worked, Lexie felt respect for the man next to her well up inside her. He trusted her enough to give her this chance and Lexie couldn't respect him more for it. At this moment it didn't matter that he mocked her and snapped at her. He was her teacher and a damn good one at that.

Lexie grinned under her mask. She hoped Cristina would send her to Plastics more often.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the reviews. I know some people were wondering about Henry and honestly, I hadn't given him much thought. I have an idea now (: This is a lot longer, I hope it doesn't drag. I was going to cut out the last scene, but it seemed…necessary. I'm not sure. Let me know what you think!

- Vin

* * *

After the surgery, Lexie was sat at the nurse's station patiently waiting for Henry to wake up from the anesthetic. She was aimlessly staring at his door, when someone stood in her way. Looking up, Lexie smiled when she saw Sadie looking back down at her.

"So," Sadie started, leaning her forearms against the desk. "I've been on clinic duty all day so you better have something interesting to tell me."

Lexie grinned proudly, "Tympanoplasty. I got to rim the perforation as well as elevate the ear canal skin flap."

Sadie looked at her deadpanned. "You classify that as _interesting_?"

Lexie laughed. "To me it is." Lexie smiled at the thought. She had always been interested in reconstruction surgery and to have helped in the reconstruction of something that helped a person to hear…It was amazing. It didn't matter to her what Sadie thought.

"You're so _boring_, Lexie," Sadie groaned. She turned around and looked at the door opposite them. "Your patient in there?"

Lexie nodded even though Sadie couldn't see. "Yeah, I'm just waiting for him to wake up before I page Dr. Sloan."

Sadie smirked and turned around to face Lexie. "How is Dr. Sloan today?"

Lexie quickly looked down and began to read the papers spread out in front of her. "Er, he's fine," she replied.

"I'm sure he is…"

Sadie observed Lexie for a moment, noticing how she was eager to avoid eye contact when they discussed Dr. Sloan. Sadie shook her head. "When are you going to get down on that?"

Lexie's head shot up, her eyes wide. "Sadie!"

"Oh, come on," Sadie drawled, a smirk fixed onto her face. "Don't deny it."

Lexie shook her head. "I, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You're dying to have your wicked way with him. And I'm sure he feels the same." Sadie grinned as Lexie stood up and nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. When Lexie began to move, heading towards the patient's room, Sadie followed her. "Imagine having him. I'm sure he wouldn't say no…"

"Sadie!" Lexie twirled around, her back resting against Henry's door. "Enough. I-I don't think we should be discussing this, even if it is just a joke. It isn't funny, and it certainly isn't appropriate. N-Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go check on my patient!"

Lexie turned and opened the door, immediately noticing that Henry was still asleep from the anesthetic. She heard the door shut and saw Sadie walking towards her. "Shouldn't you be in the clinic?"

"I should…But this is more fun."

Sadie grinned as she came over to stand next to Lexie. She then looked at the man lying in front of them and her eyes widened. "Ohh, I like."

Lexie shook her head. "No, Sadie."

"Oh, come on, Lexie," Sadie teased as her eyes ran over the man's face. "He's cute."

"He's a patient."

"Not for long."

"I thought you liked Dr. Torres?"

Sadie shrugged, "I do. But that doesn't mean I can't have the best of both worlds…"

Lexie sighed and picked up Henry's chart. She flipped through it before placing it back into its place. She fidgeted with her hands for a moment before speaking. "We went to Harvard together."

Sadie looked at Lexie and nodded slightly. So that's why she had been so fidgety. "Ex-boyfriend?"

"No!" Lexie shook her head. "No, God no." Lexie chewed her bottom lip for a moment before waving her hand to indicate to Henry. "I hardly knew him."

Sadie nodded slowly, trying to understand why Lexie was acting so nervous. "Okay…"

"He used to watch me, in the library. H-He was too…nervous to speak to me."

"I don't know whether to take that as sweet or creepy."

Lexie frowned, "What's creepy about it?"

"The fact he used to watch you."

Lexie shook her head. "It wasn't intended in a creepy, 'I used to watch you' stalker-ish…way. I-It's more that he…noticed me. I was always in the same place in the library and he would see me and…"

"And…?"

Lexie thought about it for a moment and realized that she didn't actually know that much about Henry, or his intentions. "He wasn't at Harvard for that long. He dropped out."

"I don't blame him."

Lexie looked at Sadie, "What's that meant to mean?"

"Medicine. It's tough."

"He took biostatistics."

Sadie laughed, "Then I definitely don't blame him. What a boring thing to take…"

Lexie laughed slightly and turned to look at Henry. Now that she looked at him, finally got the chance to _really_ look at him, she realized that he wasn't that bad looking. Of course, she knew that already but now she noticed smaller details that made him that tiny bit better looking. His eyelashes were long, his nose was slightly bent but it added to the masculine vibe he radiated. His lips were full and there was small stubble growing along his tanned jaw line.

Lexie blushed as she stared at him. It was harmless, she thought. There was no reason why she couldn't look at this man and…appreciate his good looks. And his sense of humor and company. Lexie suddenly found herself wishing he would wake up sooner.

As if someone had been listening to her thoughts, Lexie watched as Henry moved his legs and then slowly opened one eye. He stared at her, not fully awake. He frowned and then opened both his eyes. Looking between the two women that stood before him, Henry smirked slightly.

"What a great sight to wake up to," he rasped.

Sadie smirked and was about to reply when Lexie interrupted. "It's nice to see that you're awake, Mr. Roy."

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's Henry."

Lexie smiled politely. "I'm sorry, Henry."

Henry smiled at her and closed his eyes again, still tired from the anesthetic. "For a smart girl, you aren't so great at remembering names."

Sadie laughed but quickly stopped when Lexie glared at her. Turning back to face Henry, Lexie smiled sweetly. "To be fair, I do remember your name. I'm just selective with which I call you."

Henry laughed quietly. "Okay. Do you mind if I'm selective and call you Lexie?"

"It's not very appropriate," Lexie reminded him but couldn't help the smile on her lips.

"Neither is you not introducing me to the lovely blond next to you."

Sadie laughed, "I'm Sadie."

Henry opened his eyes to take a good look at her. He smirked and then shrugged slightly. "I prefer brunettes."

Lexie immediately blushed and was about to speak when Sadie answered instead. "And I prefer women. But you're cute."

Henry raised his eyebrow, and before he could reply, Lexie interrupted. "I-I'm sorry, but Dr. Harris and I should really get Dr. Sloan. He needs to check on your ear."

Both Sadie and Henry looked at Lexie, and Henry nodded his head slowly. "…Okay."

Quickly, Lexie grabbed Sadie by the arm and forced her outside. Shutting the door behind her, Lexie shook her head. "We should have paged Dr. Sloan as soon as he opened his eyes."

"Yes, we should have," Sadie agreed, a large smile on her face. "But that was much more fun. You sure you and he didn't…"

"Sadie," Lexie warned. "I'm going to page Sloan. You should get back to the clinic before Dr. Yang realizes you aren't there."

Sadie held up her hands. "Fine." She backed away slowly, still facing Lexie. "Fine. I'll see you at Joe's later?"

Lexie considered it quickly. It would be better than having to go home and face Thatcher. "Fine, I'll see you there."

"Great!" Sadie swiftly turned around and headed towards the clinic, looking forward to grilling Lexie about Henry and Mark later.

* * *

Mark stared at Callie as she continued her rant about Sadie. He wasn't paying much attention, more content in thinking about another intern.

"You aren't even listening to me, are you?"

Mark's eyes snapped into focus and he shook his head. "Of course I was. You were complaining about how you want to get into the psycho's pants but you're too scared to do so."

Callie glared at him, and replied defiantly. "She isn't a psycho. Slightly crazy, yes, but not a psycho. Hot, but not a psycho…And I'm not scared. I could get into her pants if I wanted too, you know? I totally could."

Mark nodded. "Sure you could. Tell me when that happens."

"You aren't watching," Callie replied deadpanned. She waved her hand dismissively. "I'll tell you, you're my person."

"You're person?"

Callie rolled her eyes. "You know…my _person_. The one I tell things to."

"I don't know if I'm supposed to be glad about that or worried that I'll have to deal with all your relationship problems."

Callie laughed, "You deal with it already." Callie looked at him for a moment, and titled her head to the side. "You would tell me if something was bothering you, wouldn't you?"

Mark frowned and grumbled, "I don't think I have a choice."

"Funny." Callie paused and then asked. "So…You and Lexie, eh?"

Mark looked at her sharply. "No."

"What?"

"No," Mark said again. "I'm not going there."

Callie shrugged. "I just thought I'd ask. I see the way you look at her."

"Oh really? And here I was thinking you were too busy gawping at _Dr. Harris_ to notice anyone else."

Just as Callie was about to reply, a pager beeped and both looked down to check theirs. Mark then stood up when he realized Henry was awake. "I'll see you later, Torres." And with that, Mark quickly left the cafeteria before Callie could reply.

* * *

Lexie was waiting outside Henry's room, thinking about nothing in particular, when Mark came up to stand next to her. "Grey," he said in a monotone voice.

She looked up at him and smiled slightly, "Dr. Sloan."

"Come on."

Opening the door to the room, Mark waited until she entered before he walked into the room and closed the door. His eyes narrowed when he saw Henry grin at the sight of Lexie. "Mr. Roy," Mark boomed in a louder than necessary voice. "I'm just going to check there are no signs of infection."

Henry glanced up at the older man and nodded. "I can hear fine, you know."

Mark tensed slightly and nodded tersely. He brought a chair up next to Henry and removed the sterile patch from his ear. Switching on his torch, Mark continued to assess the graft when he spoke again. "Dr. Grey, are you going to stand there or are you going to help me assess this graft?"

"Er, yes, sorry, sir," Lexie replied, flustered, and quickly moved so that she stood behind Mark. She peered closer and nodded her head. "No immediate signs of infection."

Mark glanced to the side. "Care to get any closer, Grey?"

Lexie looked down, a frown in place. "Er, no…"

"Then back up, Grey. Get out of my space."

"You know, Dr. Sloan, that's no way to talk to a lady," Henry said, his voice teasing.

Mark abruptly leant back, bumping into Lexie for a moment before she nearly ran out of the way. He glanced up to see her now fidget with her hands as she stood at the end of the bed. Mark returned to look at Henry. "She's an intern." He replied, as if that explained everything.

Abruptly standing up, Mark crossed his arms over his chest. "Come back in ten days and we'll do a full assessment to see if the graft was successful. Until then, stay away from heavy labor, water and blowing your nose." Mark took out his prescription pad from his coat pocket, and scribbled down the necessary requirements. "You'll be able to leave in a couple of hours. Take this."

Henry accepted the prescription from him and glanced over to Lexie. "Ten days…Will Dr. Grey be helping with my full assessment?"

Lexie looked to Mark and he glanced back at her. He returned to look at the man eyeing her. "If she doesn't get in the way up until then, she can. If she's available."

"You better be on your best behavior then, Lexie."

Lexie blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Er, yes." She looked up at Mark. "May I be excused, Dr. Sloan? Dr. Yang told me to report back after I had finished my case."

Mark nodded. "Get out of here."

Hastily, Lexie went to the door, desperate to get away from Henry's watchful eye. She had noticed him staring at her throughout his and Mark's conversation, and Lexie felt…uneasy. Although she enjoyed the attention from an attractive man, she deemed it inappropriate seeing as she was his doctor. Plus, with Dr. Sloan in the room at the same time…Lexie flushed with color.

Once outside, she let out a breath of relief. Cristina hadn't wanted her back, and so Lexie glanced at her watch. She would be off her shift soon. Realizing the only thing she could do now was to talk to Sadie, Lexie nearly broke out into a sprint in the direction of the clinic.

* * *

Henry studied Mark for a moment. "Are you and Lexie together?"

Mark tensed at such a…ridiculous question. "I don't think mine and Dr. Grey's relationship is any of you business."

"Maybe not…But if you were, I'd hope you weren't smacking her around."

Mark glared at his patient. "Excuse me?"

"I noticed the cut on her face. I didn't mention it of course, as it's none of my business. But I noticed. And I noticed how jumpy she was. Nervous. Afraid, almost. Now, if–"

"I am not responsible for any of that, and as your doctor, I think it is best you not continue with your vocalization of your thoughts."

Henry shrugged. "Fine."

Mark sighed and turned around; he had nothing to say to this man anymore. Although he knew that, Mark found himself turning back to look at Henry. "She's naturally nervous. Neurotic. She isn't afraid of me."

Henry regarded his doctor for a moment. "You really believe that?"

"Yes. Now, I'll see you in ten days, Mr. Roy."

With that, Mark left the room. He stood outside for a moment, thinking about what Henry had said. Normally, he would be proud that interns feared him. But with Lexie…Mark shook his head. It didn't matter. All that mattered now was that he was going to Joe's to have a drink. A strong one.

He needed something to take his mind off…Interns.


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thanks a bunch for all the reviews, story alerts and favourites! The end of this chapter marks the ball finally rolling. Yay! Hope everyone enjoys this chapter as much as I do (: Let me know what you think!

- Vin

* * *

Lexie rushed through the doors of the clinic and automatically scanned the large room for Sadie. She spotted the blonde at the nurse's station, a look of boredom on her face.

"Sadie!"

Sadie looked up to see Lexie rushing towards her, and raised her eyebrow in curiosity. "What's up with you?"

Lexie swallowed nervously. "He kept on looking at me."

"Who?" Sadie's eyes widened, her excitement showing. "Dr. Sloan?"

Lexie shook her head. "Henry."

"Oh."

"Oh? I-Is that all you're going to say?"

Sadie shrugged, "What else do you want me to say?"

"I-I don't know." Lexie bit into her bottom lip, deep in thought. What did she want? Why was she making a big deal about this? So, her patient might like her. Big deal...right?

Lexie slumped her shoulders and looked at Sadie. "I'm crazy, aren't I?"

Sadie patted Lexie on the shoulder. "We all are."

Lexie groaned and covered her face with her hands. "I-I need...a drink. Quick."

Sadie looked to the sides and then her eyes zoned on the clock. "I'm not off yet, but you're shift ends soon, right?"

Lexie peeked at Sadie from behind her fingers. She nodded slightly.

"Okay," Sadie said, taking Lexie by the shoulders. She turned her around, pointing her in the direction of the clinic doors. Reluctantly, Lexie dropped her arms to her sides and stared at the doors. "You head to Joe's. I'll meet you there in...An hour, hopefully."

"Okay..." Lexie nodded. She could do this. First she would have a drink and then she could rant to Sadie until her heart was content. She nodded again, her back straightening. "Okay."

"Good girl," Sadie remarked, and lightly tapped Lexie on the back. "Go on. Get a drink down your neck and I'll see you there."

Lexie nodded again and began to walk towards the doors. "Okay..."

* * *

Joe saw him approach the bar and looked at him wearily. "Usual?"

Mark visibly relaxed as he nodded. "Thanks."

Soon enough, Joe placed the scotch in front of him. "Rough day?"

"You could call it that."

Joe nodded, "Wanna talk about it?"

Mark regarded him for a moment, his face void of any emotion. "No."

"I don't even know why I asked," Joe muttered and walked away from Mark.

Glancing down at the drink in his hands, Mark watched as the lights shimmered against the amber liquid. He swirled it in his glass tumbler aimlessly, his thoughts returning to an earlier topic which he had promised himself he wouldn't think about.

He was never good at keeping promises.

Something troubled him. He didn't know why, but ever since he had left the hospital, there had been a feeling of...unease, settled at the pit of his stomach. He couldn't place his finger on it, it was too distant, too small, but there was no doubt that it was there, and was effectively pissing him off.

Mark Sloan was not the type of man to get hung up on 'feelings' and yet here he sat–in the bar, nursing the stiff drink he craved–analyzing this certain peculiar feeling.

Why was he feeling like this? Where had it come from?

Well, the latter was easier to answer. It had crept up on him when he was walking towards the locker room. Slowly, surely, he felt the unease settle in. Mark knew it had arrived after what Henry accused him of, but he wasn't about to admit that. That would mean he was worried about what people thought of him, and he honestly didn't give a damn. So...

Mark paused, his face darkening at the realization.

Worry. He was worried.

For...Little Grey.

The idea sounded bizarre, foreign. What should he feel worry about? He wasn't hurting Lexie, and he was pretty sure no-one else was.

But then, 'pretty sure' wasn't exactly the same as 100% sure.

Annoyed at his thoughts, Mark lifted the glass to his lips and downed the scotch in one go. He looked up and signalled to Joe. "Another, Joe."

Joe gave him a look but then when Mark glared at him, he decided to keep his mouth shut. In an instant, he had placed another scotch in front of the moody man. Joe shook his head slightly and then glanced up when the door bell chimed.

Taking a quick scan around, Lexie walked into the bar and immediately noticed the man at the bar in a leather jacket. Dr. Sloan. Lexie paused in her movements, calculating where she should take residence. Steeling herself, she made her way up to the bar; taking a seat a couple stools down from Mark.

Lexie smiled nervously at Joe. She was about to speak, when Joe smiled at her. "Usual?"

Lexie nodded. "You know me too well, Joe."

Once the yellow drink was placed in front of her, Joe gave her a small smile before moving down the bar. Lexie carefully side-glanced at Mark and noticed the grumpier than usual look on his face. She shouldn't talk to him, she knew that. It would only annoy him more. But...There was an impulse inside her that made her want to interrupt his thoughts and begin ranting.

Fighting off the urge, Lexie stared down at her drink. She began to stir the red straw, focusing on watching how the light glistened on the surface. It wasn't that interesting, but she knew it would be better than disturbing an attending.

As she continued to stir the drink, Lexie's thoughts drifted in the direction of Henry. She had come to the decision that she was merely amused by him. It was flattering and amusing to realize that someone you knew in college – someone who went to the same college as you, Lexie's mind automatically adjusted – regarded you as good-looking. Her conclusion was that Henry must feel that way about her, going by the looks he gave her.

The thought still managed to bring a slight tinge to her cheeks and Lexie smiled slightly. It was flattering to think, that although she looked a mess with cuts on her faces and bruises under her clothing, someone still thought she was...okay-looking.

"I swear to God, if you stir that drink one more time, I'll kill you, Grey."

Lexie's head shot up at the sound of Mark's gruff voice. She looked back down at her hand and quickly stopped her motions. She laughed nervously. "Er, s-sorry, Dr. Sloan. I guess I didn't realize."

"I know you didn't realize." Mark glanced at her and shook his head. "Preoccupied, Grey?"

Lexie swallowed, her thoughts already drifting back to the reason why she had cuts on her face and bruises under her clothing. "You could call it that."

Mark nodded his head slightly. "Me too." He paused for a moment, wondering if he should continue. But then, he didn't hesitate; he was used to speaking his mind. "Are you seeing anyone, Dr. Grey?"

Lexie choked slightly. "E-Excuse me, sir?"

Mark turned around his seat, resting his arm on the bar surface. "You..." He said, his eyes running over her face suspiciously. "O'Malley?" He asked half-teasingly, half in disgust.

"G-George?" Lexie laughed openly, shaking her head. "No. No way. He doesn't even live here...anymore."

Mark narrowed his eyes, assessing the situation. "Didn't think so. He isn't..."

Mark was about to say 'man enough,' like he usually would after saying something aimed at George, however he stopped himself. In regards to what he was implying, no man was 'man enough' to hit a woman. They were completely the opposite.

Lexie tilted her head to one side. "He isn't what?"

Mark sighed and returned to his previous position, now facing the front of the bar. "Never mind."

"No, go on."

"I said never mind, Grey. The conversation ends there."

Lexie narrowed her eyes slightly, but decided to shrug off the weird conversation. Why would he care if she was seeing someone? Unable to keep quiet, Lexie spoke again. "Why do you want to know?"

Mark tensed instantly. "I don't. Forget I even asked."

"You can't take it back. I remember it now, and I'll probably remember it forever now. So, tell me."

He shook his head. He didn't even know why he wanted to know. He spoke what was going around in his mind. He lived on acting on impulse. "Not now, Little Grey."

"Am I right in assuming that means you will tell me at a later date?"

"Don't get smart with me now," Mark warned lightly, a small smirk on his lips.

"I'm always smart around you, Dr. Sloan. You should know that."

Mark laughed, and looked at her. "You seem pretty certain about that, Grey."

"Oh, I am." Lexie grinned at him and then shrugged. "Maybe you bring out the best in me." Mark raised an eyebrow and Lexie rolled her eyes. "You're a good teacher. That's why. There are no other reasons."

"Okay."

There was a pause as Mark stared at Lexie, his eyes darker than usual. Suddenly uncomfortable under his stare, Lexie looked down at her untouched drink and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The way he looked at her, so thoughtful and...There was something else, she was sure of it; she just couldn't place what it was. Whatever it was, it made her uneasy. It made her suddenly really tired.

"Okay," she said quietly, chuckling lightly.

Mark continued to look at Lexie, his mind churning. She did seem nervous, but then, she was a nervous person. She didn't seem afraid. Her banter with him indicated so. But...Mark sighed. It was official, he was going crazy.

The door of the bar chimed and Mark looked over his shoulder to see Sadie walk through the door. She spotted him and then Lexie, who was a bit further down the bar.

"Your crazy friend is here."

Lexie turned around and smiled when she saw Sadie. She waited until Sadie had taken a seat in between her and Mark before she spoke, her mind made up.

"I know I said we should have a drink together, but I-I'm suddenly really tired." She looked at Sadie regretfully, and stood up. "Rain check?"

"Oh, come on, Lex!" Sadie whined. "I just got here."

"I-I know, I'm so sorry." Lexie looked up to see Mark staring at her, a thoughtful look on his face. "B-But, you have er, Dr. Sloan as company!"

Sadie glanced at him and then back at Lexie. "And that's meant to make me feel better?"

Lexie struggled to smile. "Sorry. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

Quickly, Lexie turned around and headed towards the door. She knew she was being irrational, but she couldn't sit there any longer under his watchful gaze. Lexie groaned when she got outside. This meant she would have to deal with her father.

* * *

"Lexie?" Thatcher moved down the hallway, keeping close to the wall. His shoulder rubbed against the wallpaper as he unsteadily made his way to his daughter's room. "Lexie!"

In her room, Lexie watched the door. _Mean drunk._ She already knew from the sound of his voice–raspy, harsh...desperate–all the tell-tale signs that he was ready for a fight. She would remain calm. She wouldn't rise against him. After all she had been through today, she would sit perfectly still, unwilling to react against his antics.

"Lexie!"

The door swung open, hitting the wall with a loud crack. Thatcher swaggered in, beer bottle in hand. He looked at her, tucked in neatly under the bed sheet, romance novel open face down in her lap, and he swayed forward, raising the bottle to point at her.

"You! You, bitch!" He spat, his eyes flaring. "You...Weren't home today."

"I had work."

Her voice was steady, her eyes remaining on his although she had the desperate need to look away, to hide from sight. She should have stayed at Joe's longer.

Thatcher laughed loudly, the noise hurting Lexie's ears. "You were meant to be home!" He shook his head furiously. "Home. Here. You were supposed to be here, with me!"

"Dad–"

"Home!" Thatcher shouted, his once slurred words becoming clearer. "Does, does that mean _nothing_ to you?"

Lexie shook her head, her eyes beginning to water. "Of course it means something to me," she whispered.

Thatcher squinted at her. "What did you say?" He moved closer, his knees banging against the bottom of her bedstead. "What did you say, you _bitch?_"

Lexie looked to the side, her eyes focusing on the wall. "I said, of course it means something to me."

He exploded.

"It means nothing to you!" Thatcher screamed, his cheeks burning red. "Our home means nothing to you, family means nothing to you! You're never here. You're always there, at the _hospital_. Al-Always willing to help anyone but me! You're not here anymore because you're out there, 'saving lives.' You're, you're too busy for me, f-for our home, for your _family!_"

Lexie felt the tears burn her eyes but refused to cry. She was used to it. She shouldn't cry. No crying. She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned to look up at him. His face was red, a great contrast to his sharp, white stubble, and his eyes were wild – boarding on manic.

She was about to speak, when the sound of glass hitting wood stopped her. She looked down to see the bottle in his hand. Or, at least, what remained of it.

The jagged edge of the green bottle was pointed at her, treacherously. Lexie looked at him, the fear clear in her eyes. When he looked at her, his eyes seemed to be staring at the spot just to the right of her. Suddenly, his loud voice broke out into the room.

"You're never here! You're always there, with them, with _him_. Do you think I'm _blind?_ Do you think I don't see the way you talk about him? How much you admire his 'surgical skills–"

"Dad, I don't–"

"Shut up!" Thatcher tore himself away from his position at the end of the bed and began pacing in front of the bed, resembling a caged animal. "Shut up, shut up…j-just _shut up_!" He stopped and pointed the bottle at her, his arm shaking. "You, you think I don't know. But I do. I know. I _know_. Y-You're never home!"

Lexie knew he wasn't talking about her, that he must be relieving some memory, but she continued to act oblivious. She hoped that he would snap out of it himself, or would simply run out of fuel and leave her alone. "I have to work, dad. I'm an intern. They make us stay there for ungodly hours. I can't help it. If I could, I'd always be here, at home with you."

Thatcher paused, and looked at her, his eyes darting over her small frame. He visibly calmed, his gaze softening. But then, as fast as it came, the look was gone, replaced by an urgent ferocity.

"Shut up!"

Before she knew what was happening, Thatcher was above her. The stench of beer hanging over her head. Her legs pinned under his. The weight pushing her into the mattress.

She saw the bottle–saw it rushing toward her as he held down her arm, the other pinned under her back–but she didn't realize what had happened until she felt something trickle down her cheek. The matter ran down, curving over her cold cheek, and ended up caught on the edge of her bottom lip.

It was over as fast as it had begun. Lexie laid against the pillow, unable to move; whether it was because of shock or because of the pain she felt in her upper arms and legs, she didn't really know.

All Lexie knew was that she would have to take care of the gashes in her cheek before her shift started.


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the reviews and story alerts! I hope this is good, I wasn't too sure about it. Let me know what you think! (:

- Vin

* * *

Sadie sighed when she heard the door chime, signaling that Lexie had left the bar. She glanced at Mark and shook her head. "What a great night this will be."

Mark looked out at her from the corner of his eye and shook his head. "Is that meant to be insulting, Harris?"

"It isn't meant in any certain way," Sadie replied. She looked up at Joe and ordered a beer. When the drink was placed in front of her, Sadie took a drag. "You know," she said, as she turned to look at Mark fully, her forearms resting on the bar top. "You aren't that useless."

Mark quirked his eyebrow, "I'd be careful what you say. I can ban you from the OR."

"You can only ban me from _your_ OR. And don't worry, I'm not going to say anything inappropriate." Sadie grinned slightly, and then leaned in. "So, as I was saying, you aren't _that_ useless. I think you could help me. Get information, on Dr. Torres."

Mark scoffed and looked at her. "That's inappropriate."

Sadie shook her head. "No it isn't. We aren't at the hospital, you aren't my attending. So," she leaned in closer, now on the edge of her seat. "Tell me. I know you and her had a...thing."

"It's none of your business what went on between Dr. Torres and I."

Sadie rolled her eyes and moved away from him. "Maybe not," she said. "But I _know_ she talks to you about me. I _know_ she wants me. All I need from _you_ is information. How to _really_ get at her."

Mark continued to stare ahead before he replied, his voice void from any emotion. "Take off your clothes."

"What?" Sadie laughed slightly, her eyes fixed on Mark. He turned and his facial expression showed that he was serious. "You gotta be kidding me..."

"If you want her to know you want her, take off your clothes. Maybe ask her out first but, what better way to tell someone you like them than stripping?"

She shook her head and wondered why she even asked him in the first place. "I can't take that seriously."

A pager beeped and they both looked at their respective pagers. Mark noticed it was from Callie, who was still on shift, and so got up. "Don't take me seriously then," he said as he quickly finished off the drink sitting in front of him. "Just don't expect to get anywhere. She's nervous; I always thought you were more forward. I'm never wrong."

And with that, Mark turned and left, leaving Sadie staring after him. It took her a moment but soon, a small smile spread on Sadie's lips.

There was no harm in being forward.

* * *

She stood in the bathroom when she was sure he had left the house. The door had slammed and it was soon followed by a shouted curse, and then the rumbling of an engine. Lexie had sighed and stared at her ceiling for a long time, trying to regain feeling in her arms and legs. Soon enough, the sharp, shooting pains had subsided and now she stood in the bathroom, looking at the wound critically. It was deep – that much was obvious from the various shades of red she could see within the gash. There were several cuts, all small and fine, congregated on her cheekbone around a large slash which stood open in the center.

Lexie cleaned around the wound carefully, her fingers shaking slightly, but soon realized it would need suturing. It angered her that the only way she was improving her skills was through working on herself. Lexie sighed and opened the bathroom cabinet, and what she found angered her even more. She had run out of material. That would mean she would have to patch herself up and go to the ER. It needed attention; she knew that, she couldn't just leave it.

Closing the cabinet and walking out into her bedroom, Lexie sighed softly as she grabbed her keys from her desk. Maybe, if she was lucky, she could slip into the supply closet unnoticed. She had the ability of suturing her own face; it wouldn't be a big deal. She would just have to be careful to avoid anyone from noticing her.

It took her no more than ten minutes to arrive at Seattle Grace Hospital, and once faced with the large doors to the ER, Lexie felt her nerve slip. What if someone noticed? She did after all have a white pad taking up most of her cheek. There was nothing she could do. If someone saw her, she would have to tell them the truth. She had dropped her wine glass and tripped on the rug, effectively falling onto the broken glass.

The glass. The realization that she hadn't been able to remove all the glass from her cut dawned on her. What if she needed a higher opinion? Should she just go to Dr. Hunt now? He wouldn't care whatever excuse she gave him. It was, after all, none of his business.

Realizing that he was her safest bet, Lexie walked through the doors of the hospital and headed to the ER, hoping that he was on shift. Once there, her eyes scanned the room. Dr. Hunt was nowhere to be seen and Lexie felt the sudden urge to cry.

"Little Grey."

Lexie groaned at the sound of his voice. She didn't need this. This was the one thing she didn't want to deal with. Why wasn't he at the bar like he was supposed to be? Without turning around, Lexie replied. "Something you need, Dr. Sloan?"

Mark narrowed his eyes. She didn't sound right. Her voice was softer than usual, drained…emotional. Moving so that he stood next to her, Mark looked down at her. His eyes turned into narrow slits when he noticed her cheek. "What the Hell happened to you?"

The anger, which was blatantly clear in his voice, made her flinch slightly. Lexie steeled herself and replied calmly, "I fell on some broken glass."

Her answer was so monotone, no stuttering like he was accustomed to, and that by itself alerted Mark to the fact something was wrong. "How does that happen?"

"First, the person would have to drop something made out of glass. Next, they would either trip–"

Mark interrupted her impatiently. "I know how something like that _happens_; I want to know how it happened to you."

Lexie shrugged. "I dropped my wine glass."

"And then you just tripped and fell onto it," Mark guessed.

Lexie looked up at him and smiled softly. "Got it in one."

Mark softened when he saw her eyes. There was just something she wasn't telling him. She had left Joe's because she was tired. She should have been asleep, not drinking wine. Mark sighed and turned around. He made his way to the exit of the ER, and was stopped by Lexie's delicate voice.

"Dr. Sloan? Er, w-where are you going?"

Spinning on his heel, he allowed himself to smile. "I was heading back up to surgical. The only reason I'm here is because Torres paged me needing a consult. The surgery isn't going to happen just yet, if you want, you can come along and I'll fix up your face."

Her eyes widened and she brought her hands up to indicate that it wasn't necessary. "You don't have to do that, Dr. Sloan. I, I'll just wait here for Dr. Hunt or–"

"Hunt's in surgery. And I'm pretty sure you don't want one of the incompetent interns let loose on that face of yours. We wouldn't want them messing it up."

Lexie smiled despite herself. She would file away the last part as a compliment. Taking a quick glance around, she settled her eyes on him again. She walked up to him and together they headed in the direction of the elevators. It was quiet for a moment, before Lexie said, "You do realize I'm an incompetent intern too, right?"

Mark laughed, "You're not incompetent. Pathetic, yes, incompetent, not so much."

Lexie felt her cheeks warm at the thought, and she ducked her head slightly. "Thank you, Dr. Sloan."

Mark glanced at her, his eyes giving away nothing. "Anytime, Grey. Anytime."

* * *

"Do you need any help?" Lexie inquired from her position on the bed. They were locked in an On-Call room – Mark had figured if he took her into one of the rooms it would alert attention from the nurses. Of course, walking into an On-Call room with her was equally risky, but they had been careful.

Lexie watched as Mark placed all the equipment onto the small table. He sat on the chair he had stolen from the hallway and carefully opened the sterilized packet which held the needle. Threading through the suture, he looked up at her.

He didn't know how believable what she told him was. Although she was nervous and neurotic, he never considered Lexie clumsy. Of course he had seen her fumble with charts before, but to trip and fall onto glass? Mark tensed at the thought. The pain she must have felt made his stomach clench. She wasn't clumsy, she always held herself with a certain grace that he thought her other sister lacked. Mark frowned slightly and looked up at her after he had fixed the equipment.

She looked nervous now, her eyes showing the worry she felt. He pursed his lips as he watched her nervously tuck a strand of hair behind her small ears. Now that he was up close, he found himself realizing things about her that he had never seen before. Her earlobe sloped slightly, and her bottom lip was full and perfect. There were small, nearly invisible, freckles that dusted the bridge of her nose. He couldn't place exactly what color her eyes were. They had always appeared brown to him, a light shade, but now that he could look at her, he realized that they were green. Or at least in this light they appeared to be a light olive color. Her eyelashes were long and thick and Mark found himself more amused by the Bambi quality of her eyes rather than the color.

Mark was amazed for a moment – he hadn't noticed how beautiful she really was.

She always seemed so simple and…There was a certain innocence about her that he was attracted to. It surprised him, he normally liked his women feisty and experienced. Though, having said that, there was no argument that Lexie Grey wasn't feisty. He just didn't know how experienced she was.

"D-Dr. Sloan?"

Mark's icy blue eyes snapped to hers and he suddenly realized he had been staring at her. He cleared his throat awkwardly, and moved forward to the edge of his seat, so that his knees rested against hers. "Lean forward, Grey," he murmured.

She did that, craning her neck forward, her cheek slightly turned toward his raised hand. Carefully, he removed the bandages she had cautiously placed on her face. His sharp intake of breath caused Lexie to lower her eyes, now fixated on her clasped hands in her lap.

"That must have been one Hell of a drop, Grey," Mark said, his voice gruff. "Looks like you fell on an angle."

"I fell straight onto it, from above. No angle. I d-don't know what you're talking about."

His jaw was locked as he brought the pad of anesthetic to her wound. She flinched slightly but he continued. Dropping the pad back to the table slightly behind him, Mark looked at her, her eyes now fixed on his, his face showing no emotion. "The angle of the cut indicates you were hit from above. The cuts run down your cheekbone. If you fell onto the glass, there should be no direction or slant to the cut."

Lexie's eyes widened slightly but she showed no other reaction. And so, he continued, his voice tense.

"There seems to be some fragments of glass in the tip of the wound. That would, normally, only occur if you were hit from above, the glass swiping downwards. There would have to be a lot of pressure too, blunt force, for there to still be glass in your wound." He shrugged, and turned around, reaching for the tweezers. When he looked at her again, she had looked away, once again fascinated by her hands.

"I've seen this before. I've sutured more cuts like this than I can remember." He leaned forward, holding one hand up to cup the side of her face – which wasn't exactly necessary, but he did it anyway – and the other hand held the tweezers to the cut. Carefully, he clipped onto the shard of glass and slowly brought his hand away. Bringing it up to his eyelevel, Mark looked at it critically. Green. He figured Lexie would be more traditional in her glassware, going for clear glass rather than colored. That was, if he were to believe her story.

Mark dropped it to the tray behind him and when he turned back, he saw Lexie had her mouth open, as if she wanted to say something. She didn't. Mark sighed softly and brought the needle up to her face at the appropriate ninety degree angle. His other hand took residence on her other cheek.

As he slowly began suturing her face, taking more care than he normally would, Mark couldn't help but speak. "You must have fallen funny; otherwise you wouldn't have a cut like this. Did the wine glass attack you by any chance?"

"Now, you're just being ridiculous," Lexie said, her eyes trying to focus on anything but his face, which was closer than she thought it would be.

"Am I?"

Lexie huffed, "Yes, you are."

Mark smirked slightly. "I'm just trying to prove a point, Little Grey."

Lexie rolled her eyes, her eyes now fixed on the wall behind him. "And what point is that, Dr. Sloan?"

Mark chuckled. "Haven't you been listening to me, Grey?"

"I tend to tune out when you speak."

Mark laughed, "Funny, Grey. Very funny."

They fell into silence as Mark continued to weave the material through her face. After a moment he spoke in that low, husky voice that always made Lexie fight to remain calm. "My point is," he drawled, his fingertips brushing against her skin. "To get wounds like this…You would have to be hit by glass from a height higher than where you were." His other hand, which wasn't suturing, began to slowly rub against her pale skin in a comforting way. Lexie tried to regulate her breathing, but it was so damn hard.

He noticed, from the corner of his eye, that she had swallowed hard when he had begun trailing patterns across her skin. Mark smirked lightly. "My point is," he continued, "that you've been lying."

Lexie felt the need to defend herself. "I, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do. "

Lexie laughed nervously. "I don't know what you're talking about, Dr. Sloan. Seriously."

Mark rolled his eyes. "I never pegged you as a liar, Grey."

"I'm not lying!" Lexie exclaimed defiantly.

Mark stopped at that, leaning back slightly to look at her. Her eyes darted around nervously under his watch. She swallowed and was about to say something when spoke, his voice showing his surprise. "You really believe yourself, don't you?"

Lexie opened her mouth and then closed it, unsure of what to say. She then said, "I believe myself because I'm telling you the truth."

Mark shook his head and unknowingly his jaw clenched. He moved closer to her, nearly finished with her sutures. "You must have said that lie so many times that now you just believe it."

"Dr. Sloan!" Lexie whispered harshly, hurt that he could see through her so clearly.

Mark didn't reply. Instead he carried on suturing her face, and that's how they remained for the rest of the time. Once he was finished, he moved back, his hands sliding down her face. Lexie looked at him, hurt, as he cleared away the equipment without looking at her. She didn't know what she had done. Yes, she had lied, but to him, that shouldn't matter. He didn't care. So, why was he questioning her all the time?

When he got up and made his way over to the door, quietly unbolting the door, Lexie found the strength to speak. "Dr. Sloan?" She said quietly, her voice resembling one of a child's. "Are, are you mad at me?"

Mark let out a sigh, and briefly closed his eyes. He was annoyed she couldn't admit that something was wrong, when he had clearly proven her explanation to be wrong. What was so bad that she had to cover it up?

He shook his head slowly, his hand turning the doorknob. "I'm not mad, Lexie," he said, and Lexie was taken aback initially, as it was the first time he had used her given name. "I'm not mad…" Opening the door, Mark walked out, before abruptly turning on his heel, to face her. He couldn't leave without saying everything. She looked so tired and lost, so delicately small, sitting on the bed which was too large for her frame.

He smiled gently despite the anger he felt. He didn't know whether he was angry she was lying to him, angry that he cared, or angry at the person who had hurt her. He simply smiled, as it was all he could do. "I'm more disappointed. I'm disappointed you're so afraid that you actually believe the lies you tell yourself."

And with that, Mark turned and quietly shut the door behind him.


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the reviews and story alerts. This is a bit short, and the scenes change more frequently too, sorry if it gets a bit annoying. I wasn't too sure about the ending but I decided to keep it, as I couldn't think of anything better. Let me know what you think!

- Vin

* * *

Lexie sat on the bed, perfectly still. She had been sitting like this ever since Mark left the room, five minutes ago. Once again, she found herself counting. It helped her concentrate on remaining calm. He was wrong. She wasn't lying. She had to convince herself; otherwise…She didn't want to know what could happen, what effects it would have on her mind if she was left to over-think it, to believe in what was happening...

_Three...four...five…_It was none of his business. None, whatsoever. _Six...seven...eight._ It annoyed her, and worried her, that he thought he knew her so well. He didn't know her. He didn't know anything about her. _Ten...eleven...twelve...thirteen…_Why did it matter to him? Why did he have to be so freakin' intuitive? He didn't know her; he didn't realize that lying was all she could do. He didn't understand, he would never understand.

Her anger was slowly on the rise. She could feel it, its hands wrapping around her, trailing up her body, until Lexie finally stood up. He didn't understand. He didn't know her, she was just an intern. They weren't friends, and never would be. He didn't need to ask her so many questions. The only questions he should be asking her were medical related questions. Nothing else.

Lexie yanked the door to the On-Call room open and stormed out. She had to find him. She was going to find him. And when she did, he was going to find out that Lexie Grey did not tolerate people calling her a liar.

Heading towards the nurse's station, Lexie stopped when she saw Callie at the end of the hallway. She didn't know whether or not she should ask her where Mark was. It would cause her to ask too many questions. Lexie paused for a moment, mulling over what to do. Then, without really caring, she approached Callie, and reminded herself to remain calm.

"Dr. Torres?"

Callie turned around and her eyes widened when she saw the suture running down Lexie's face. The other cuts were still red, and Callie noticed there was slight swelling. She reached out and lightly touched Lexie's arm. "Hey, are you okay?"

Lexie nodded and tried to smile. "Oh, yeah, I-I'm fine."

Callie raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Really." Lexie waved her hand dismissively and Callie's hand fell from the intern's arm. "I-I was wondering if you…knew where D-Dr. Sloan was."

Callie eyed her suspiciously. "Why?"

Lexie opened her mouth and then shut it, not having an excuse in mind. She looked to the side before glancing back at Callie wearily. "I, er, just…wanted to know if h-he would need my, er, services today."

Callie's face showed her disbelief for what Lexie had said. "Dr. Yang decides that, you know that." Callie's expression softened when Lexie looked away embarrassed. "Is there something you need to talk about, Lexie?"

Lexie's eyes widened slightly and shook her head. "No," she said, laughing nervously. "No, I just thought…I'd see if I could be assigned to Plastics later. I'm r-really interested in…in faces. Re-reconstructing...faces."

Callie nodded slowly, wondering if Lexie thought she was stupid. "Okay," she said, drawing out the word. "I'm, er, going over there now," she said, pointed behind her. "I've got surgery."

"Oh, yeah, go ahead."

Callie gave Lexie one more look before she nodded and turned away, heading towards the OR. There was something odd about that girl, Callie thought. Maybe Mark knows something…

* * *

He was wiping his hands dry when the door opened and Callie walked in. Mark turned to glance at her and raised an eyebrow. "Always late to your own surgeries, Torres? Fantasizing about crazy Sadie keep you away?"

"Ha-ha, very funny," Callie replied, her annoyance shining through. "Actually, I was talking to _your_ crazy intern."

Mark frowned, "I don't have any interns."

"Grey."

"What about her?" Mark asked, his voice trying to feign ignorance.

Callie shook her head. "I don't know…." She glanced at Mark from the corner of her eye, trying to see if he would react. "She seemed weird. Agitated."

"All interns are weird, Torres."

"I know, I know. She just seemed…spaced out." Callie washed her hands and dried them quickly. She turned to face Mark, her face unimpressed. "She wanted to talk to you."

Mark swallowed, trying to remain calm. "Really?"

"Yes. Really." Callie narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you sleep with her?"

"What?" Mark exploded, his face one of disbelief. "No! God, no. What do you take me for?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

Mark huffed and brushed past Callie, heading to open the door into the OR. "I can't believe you would even suggest that."

Callie watched as he left the room and she frowned. What was up with them? Quietly, she followed Mark into the OR and didn't say anything more to him as they worked on their patient. Throughout the short surgery, she kept glancing up at him, to see no emotion on his face. Callie continued to work although her mind was on overtime trying to figure out what exactly was going on between Mark and Lexie Grey.

* * *

Lexie had been sitting in the intern locker room since her conversation with Callie. Her shift would begin again and so she decided to get dressed and wait. And now, the waiting was beginning to get to her.

With nothing to distract her, she had been left with her own thoughts. They ran through her mind, screaming at a high pitched voice, and Lexie had to close her eyes to stop the pain in her head. But when she closed her eyes, he was there, in front of her. On top of her. She could see his hand falling down against her, feel his weight pushing her down. Lexie's eyes sprung open. She shouldn't close her eyes. No, that was not a good idea.

Neither was going home. She couldn't. Not now, not tonight. Lexie prayed for a big case. Something that kept her here, where she was safe. She always thought she would be safe in her room. Obviously, she had been wrong.

The sound of the door opening caused Lexie to look up. She smiled nervously as Cristina approached her. "Where's everyone else?" She asked, suspiciously.

Lexie shrugged. "I'm early."

Cristina glanced at her watch, and shook her head. "No, Three, rounds are now." She turned around and muttered under breath, "Incompetent interns."

Lexie quickly stood up and followed her out of the room. "Er, Dr. Yang, s-shouldn't we wait for the others?"

"No, Grey, never wait for anyone. If they're late, then it's their problem."

As they walked down the corridor they saw Sadie and the others rushing towards them. Sadie spoke first. "W-We're so–"

Cristina waved her hand dismissively. "Just go."

Lexie watched as the group of interns ran past and Lexie paused, unsure if she should wait or continue with Cristina. She looked at Cristina and Cristina rolled her eyes at her. "Just go to Sheppard."

"W-What about rounds?"

"It doesn't really matter now." Cristina turned on her heel and stalked off in the opposite direction, leaving Lexie to sigh and head off to find Derek.

She found him standing in front of the surgical board. Cautiously, she approached him and cleared her throat. "Good morning, Dr. Sheppard. I, er, I'm assigned to you today."

Derek looked down at her and smiled. His smile dropped and worry over took his expression when he noticed her face. "Are you okay? What happened to your face?"

Lexie fumbled with her hands and turned to look at the board. "I, er, dropped my wine glass. I fell onto it. My rug. I tripped over my rug."

Derek stared at her for a moment, stored away the information, and then turned to look at the board. "Okay. Did you get it seen to?"

"Oh, er, yes. D-Dr. Sloan kindly attended to it."

Derek nodded, and decided to talk to Mark when he got the chance. "Okay. Well, we haven't got a patient yet, unless a trauma comes in." He looked at her and noticed the tired, withdrawn expression on her face. "How about you go get a coffee, and I'll page you if something comes up?"

"Oh, no," Lexie protested. "I-Isn't there anything I could do?"

Derek turned to face her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Get some rest, Lexie. I'll talk to you later."

Derek walked past her and Lexie was left to stare after him. She sighed, she could use a coffee.

* * *

After their surgery, Callie walked next to Mark as they headed to the vending machine. They hadn't spoken much during the surgery, and when they did, they only talked about the procedure. Callie was itching to ask him something, anything, about his relationship with Lexie. Or just to find out if he knew anything about why Lexie had a pretty bad wound on her face.

Callie decided to speak when they stopped in front of the vending machine. "So," she started, her eyes focused on the various colors in front of her. "If you didn't sleep with her, and she's weird for another reason, why does she want to talk to you?"

"What are you going on about, Torres?" Mark asked, seemingly uninterested as he looked over the food in front of him.

"Don't act stupid. You're not stupid. And I'm not stupid. I know there's something up with you too."

Mark shook his head, annoyed that Lexie had asked about him to Callie. Now, Callie would never get off his case. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Mark!" Callie hit him on the arm causing Mark to grunt and turn to face her. "Look, there's obviously something going on. She wouldn't just want to talk to you about Plastics. You say you didn't sleep with her–"

"I didn't!" Mark interjected gruffly.

Callie shook her head, trying to get him to understand. She had seen Lexie's face; she had seen the anxious look in her eye. There was something wrong with her, and maybe Lexie felt safer talking to Mark. Maybe she needed to confide in him. Callie didn't know why, and she didn't know the truth – she was now just taking wild guesses – but whatever was going on, she had to get Mark to understand that Lexie only approached her because she needed to discuss something with him.

"You say you didn't sleep with her, so there must be something wrong if she wants to talk to you," Callie said, her voice soft. "You haven't seen her today, have you?"

"No."

Callie sighed and lowered her voice. "She has sutures, on her face. It looks really bad. I'm thinking she came to find you to maybe...talk about it. Or something. I know you two...talk."

"If she needs to talk to someone, she can go to one of her intern friends," Mark said roughly. He didn't need Callie telling him how to handle this situation. Mark still wasn't sure if there was a situation. Of course he knew something was wrong with Lexie, he tended to her face for God's sake, but...She obviously didn't want to talk about it. She made that clear. But then...why would she ask for him? Was there more she wanted to tell him? Was she going to apologize for lying?

Mark frowned and backed away from Callie. He began walking away when Callie spoke. "Hey, where're you going?"

Mark spun on his heel and briefly wondered if he should lie. He thought against it. "I'm going to be an intern for an hour," he said, his voice flat. Quickly, he turned around and walked down the hallway, intent on finding Little Grey.


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind. Lyrics to _Seasons of Love_ belong to Jonathan Larson (:

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the reviews and story alerts. I don't really like this one, I hope it's okay. Just remember, something bigger is coming up really soon! Let me know what you think! (:

- Vin

* * *

Mark was walking through the hallway, trying to find Lexie when he saw Derek approach him. He groaned slightly, not wanting to stop and chat when his mind was focused on what he was going to say to Lexie.

Mark nodded slightly at Derek when he came closer, and attempted to walk past him. Derek however stopped him by lightly touching Mark's arm. "Hey, where you heading?"

"Er," Mark looked down the hallway and then back to Derek. He sighed, "Nowhere. What's up?"

Derek looked at Mark for a moment and then asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Mark said, finding it hard to concentrate on the conversation. He glanced down the hall and then back at Derek. Quickly, he calculated an excuse that may work in his favor. "Hey, what are you working on today? Anything interesting? Who've you got?"

"I haven't got a case yet," Derek said, a frown on his face. He was curious as to why Mark seemed so jumpy. He narrowed his eyes slightly. "You mean which intern is assigned to me today?" Mark nodded and Derek replied, his suspicion clear. "Lexie. What about you?"

"Oh, no-one. For once." Mark cleared his throat before he lowered his voice and asked, "You don't know where she is, do you?"

Derek raised his eyebrow. "Lexie?"

"Yeah," Mark replied gruffly. "You've seen her today. I tended to her face. I just wanted to know if she's okay. She, er, seemed pretty shaken."

Derek paused for a moment, wondering when Mark had become so considerate about other people. Then, it dawned on him. "You slept with her, didn't you?"

"What? No!" Mark exclaimed in annoyance. "No, God. First Torres and now you? What makes everyone think I slept with her?" When Derek opened his mouth to speak, Mark narrowed his eyes. "Don't answer that." He sighed, "I just thought seeing as I tended to her, I might as well check-up on her. It's not like she has a _sister_ to confide in."

Derek crossed his arms across his chest. "Meredith has a day off. A well deserved one, at that. She hasn't seen Lexie's face. If she had, then I'm sure she would have approached Lexie by now."

Mark shook his head, "You really believe that?"

"I have to."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that." Mark looked down the hallway and sighed. "Where is she?"

Derek sighed. "I told her to grab a coffee and get some rest. She's probably in the cafeteria or an On-Call room." Derek paused for a moment, clearly thinking about something. He then said, "Don't go in an On-Call room with her."

"I'm not going to sleep with her!"

Derek shook his head. "_Don't_ go in an On-Call room with her. That's not what she needs."

"Don't you think I know that?" Mark said, his anger growing by the second.

"Thing is Mark, you never think. You act. And if she's in an On-Call room, on a bed, tired and upset, you're gonna comfort her in the only way you know how to. _Don't_ go in an On-Call room with her."

Mark narrowed his eyes. "So much for you trusting me."

Derek shook his head. "I do trust you. I trust you because I know since I'm saying not to go into an On-Call room with Lexie, you'll listen to me. She's...fragile. If you want to find her, just talk to her. About medicine. Safe topics, okay?"

Derek patted Mark on the shoulder and turned, beginning to walk down the hallway. Mark watched his retreating back before calling out. "You're great at pep talks, you know that?" When Derek rounded the corner, Mark turned and walked in the opposite direction, muttering under his breath, "Safe topics…safe topics."

* * *

Lexie sighed as she sat in the empty cafeteria. The coffee in front of her had gone cold long ago, and yet Lexie didn't move to throw it away. Instead she aimlessly stirred the brown liquid around the cup, her mind elsewhere.

She knew she should have gone to an On-Call room instead, to get some rest, but Lexie was too…afraid. If she fell asleep, the memories, the vivid imagery that she couldn't escape, it would flare up behind her eyes. She would see it again, everything, in detail.

Lexie shuddered, she wouldn't fall asleep. She looked at her coffee. If she didn't want to fall asleep, she would need as much coffee as she could get. Groaning slightly, Lexie raised the cup to her lips and swallowed the liquid in one go. The chill ran down her throat and Lexie wrinkled her nose in distaste.

Looking around her, she noticed that even the cafeteria staff had disappeared. With no-one around, Lexie began tapping her fingers against the table top in tune with the song that had suddenly appeared in her mind. She couldn't place it immediately, her fingers simply beating along, until the realization hit her.

_In daylights, in sunsets,  
In midnights, in cups of coffee_

Lexie smiled, she always loved show tunes. It amazed her that her mind could link the RENT song to this moment, the empty cup of coffee sitting in front of her probably being the reason why she began tapping the song. Her mind started to wonder in thought of the show, which was one of her favorite musicals, and Lexie made a mental note to watch it on DVD when she had a moment alone. It brought a smile to her face, what she needed right now was to get lost in her favorite songs and to forget about the world. Forget about…

The doors swung open and the noise made Lexie stop tapping and look up abruptly. Her eyes widened when she saw him coming towards her, his strides large. Lexie swallowed nervously; previously she had wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but now? Lexie took one look at his face and wanted to hide.

Mark dragged out a chair and sat down in front of her. He rested his forearms on the table and leaned in. His eyes flew over her face and he saw the nerves in her eyes. "Okay," he said, his voice low, assessing the situation. "Contusions. Biliverdin, what does it cause?"

Lexie opened her mouth and then closed it, confused as to why he was asking her about bruising. "Er, w-what?"

If he could only talk to her about medically related topics, then so be it. He could work around it and get something out of her. Mark raised an eyebrow. "Come on. Interns aren't _that_ stupid."

"I-it's the green pigment formed as a byproduct of heme breakdown…a-and produces the green coloring in br-bruises."

Mark nodded, "Bilirubin."

"T-The yellow coloring in bruises."

"Hemosiderin."

"Golden-brown." Lexie paused as she watched Mark nod his head and look down at his clasped hands. "May I ask w-why you're asking, Dr. Sloan?"

Mark looked up at her and wondered if he should tell her that he wanted to know if those pigments were causing similar colored marks on her body. He wanted to ask her if she would allow him to look, to treat them. Mark laughed slightly, he was going crazy. He couldn't just ask her. It was inappropriate; he was her teacher, her attending, her _boss_. But then, shouldn't he care about her well-being for those exact reasons?

Mark sighed. "Unexplained bruising. Causes."

"It could be an indication of internal bleeding, certain types of cancer, er, leukemia being one. Meningococcal infection, and er, a-abuse." Her eyes tried to remain steady on his and Lexie let out a breath, "Child or domestic."

He had been watching her carefully for any indications of…well, he didn't exactly know what. He couldn't place anything different. There was her stutter, her nervous actions on the word abuse, but she's had a stutter for as long as he can remember. Talking about medicine had done nothing but refresh their memories on contusions. Mark sighed, if he wanted to know something he would have to ask her.

He sighed, and reluctantly decided to stay safe.

"Torres said you had been looking for me."

Lexie blinked at the abrupt change in topic and nervously looked down at the table. She then raised her eyes to his and shrugged. "I, er, was…annoyed when I asked her. I shouldn't have asked her. I-It was nothing important."

Mark sighed heavily. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Grey, don't waste my time."

Lexie huffed. "Well, I…I don't like people accusing me of lying. I'm not lying, I don't lie. And before you say a-anything, I am not in denial…about anything." She waved her hand dismissively, "It doesn't matter now anyway. I'm not annoyed. Not anymore." She paused for a moment before lowering her voice. "I-I just don't like people being disappointed in me."

Mark allowed his face to soften when she looked away, deciding to stare at his hands instead. Although she hadn't raised her head, Mark spoke. "So, you aren't lying. Okay."

Lexie looked up, her eyes showing her disbelief. He believed her? He wasn't going to pursue the matter? Lexie caught herself – wasn't that what she wanted him to do? To stop questioning her? "Okay?"

Mark nodded. "Okay. You weren't lying. I don't know what I was talking about. I made it all up. Whatever."

Lexie frowned at his curt words. "Dr. Slo–"

Mark sighed and unexpectedly stood up. "Look Grey, I fixed up your face. That's it. Just, just forget about the rest. It's obvious to me that nothing's wrong."

Before Lexie could reply, Mark had turned and stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving her alone once again.


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the reviews and story alerts. Sorry this isn't much, but I really just felt the need to show people what's going on in Lexie's and Mark's mind before something that I've labeled 'The Event' happens (: I hope this is good, I know their feelings can get a bit confusing, but that's how I picture them feeling. Let me know what you think! (:

* * *

Lexie stared at the doors for a moment, wondering why Mark had changed the subject so quickly. She didn't understand him. Was he trying to help her? Did he know something? A sudden panic gripped Lexie, raw, its fingers clutching her throat – she felt the fear run through her bones. What if he knew something was wrong? Her face paled and Lexie suddenly felt the urge to throw up. He couldn't know. She had tried so hard to disguise what was going on, her excuse were solid, no-one would doubt her – she had been so sure.

Had she failed? Or was he just bluffing? It was fair to assume that he didn't know, and that he was simply testing her knowledge of contusions, helping her since he was her teacher. He was her teacher, that's all. But…Did he have ulterior motives?

Lexie nervously chewed on her bottom lip, was she being paranoid? Of course he couldn't know. He didn't know. If he did, wouldn't he have said something to her? She had always considered him as a man that spoke his mind; surely if he knew something he would have mentioned it. Lexie paused. What if he knew and didn't care?

Now, she knew she was going to throw up.

The thought sickened her. If he thought she was in trouble, wouldn't he want to help? Was she that insignificant? Slowly, she felt the panic rise within her and her breaths became slightly irratic. Was she really that invisible that people didn't care that she was getting…Lexie caught herself. What exactly was happening to her? She wasn't being abused, she knew that. She just…He hit her. Sometimes. He was hardly home to do any serious damage. Serious damage. What exactly did that mean? Could the verbal abuse, the shouting, the insults, did they all count towards serious damage? Was it really affecting her that much?

Yes, it was, she thought.

She was twenty-four and she still slept with the light on.

The thought brought a wave of depression onto her.

The sound of her pager buzzing snapped her out of her frantic thoughts. She snapped it off her belt and took note that she was being paged to the ER. Lexie took a moment to regulate her breathing, slow, deep breaths she thought as she carefully stood up. Straightening her back, she headed towards the cafeteria doors, and pushed them open with a determined force. She wouldn't think about this anymore. She was a doctor; she would focus on being just that. At work she wasn't invisible, she wasn't scared and she _wasn't_ damaged. She was Dr. Lexie Grey and as she headed in the direction of the ER, Lexie felt herself relax at the thought.

* * *

By the time Lexie reached the ER, there was already a crowd of people around the gurney. Cristina, Hunt, Callie, Mark and Derek were all rushing to stabilize the man who by the looks of it had been in a collision. Lexie assumed he had been in a car accident, going by the amount of blood and the neck brace on the patient.

Nervously awaiting orders, Lexie watched as Cristina began compressions. When no-one noticed her, Lexie attempted to raise her voice over the crowd. "Er, D-Dr. Sheppard? How, how can I help?"

Derek however didn't reply and continued to work on the patient. When Callie took over compressions, Cristina moved to the other side of the gurney, brushing past Lexie. Quickly, Lexie spoke. "Dr. Yang! How can I help?"

Cristina grunted in annoyance and instead focused on the patient, taking over the pump from Derek. When no-one glanced over to her, Lexie felt herself move closer to the door, unable to be in a room where no-one wanted her.

As she opened the door to leave, the sound of the monitor beeping steadily made her turn around, hand still on the doorknob. Derek looked at Lexie. "Dr. Grey," he said sternly. "I need you to take Mr. Robinson to the MRI. You weren't about to leave, were you?"

Lexie opened her mouth in shock and shook her head. "N-No, Dr. Shepherd." Looking around the room, she picked up on Cristina's eye roll and Mark's stern look. Abruptly she moved forward to the gurney and looked at Derek for approval. When he nodded at her slightly, Lexie cautiously moved the gurney, with the help of Hunt, out of the door.

Stopping in front of the elevator, Lexie stared at the doors, fully aware that Hunt was staring at the side of her face. Unable to take it anymore, Lexie turned to face him, a bright smile on her face. "Is there something wrong, Dr. Hunt?"

Owen looked at her, carefully calculating what to say. "Nasty cut."

Lexie's smiled tightened and she replied in her usual cheery voice. "It isn't that bad."

"Looks bad."

Lexie gave a half-shrug. "That's only b-because of the sutures. Otherwise, it's fine. Perfectly fine. Not nasty at all."

Owen nodded and turned to face the elevator. "Okay."

Lexie nodded gently, the word okay repeating in her mind. Eventually the doors opened and they guided the gurney in. Then, Owen stepped out of the elevator and raised an eyebrow. "You okay to get there?"

Lexie smiled , "Yes, thank you."

Owen nodded and waved slightly before turning back for the ER. Once there, he spotted Derek and Mark talking. Going over, he caught the end of their conversation.

"I'm just saying maybe there's something wrong."

Owen looked at Derek, a frown on his face. "What's wrong?"

Derek shook his head slightly, still staring at Mark. "Lexie."

Owen raised his eyebrow. "Something's wrong with Grey?"

Mark huffed, "There's nothing wrong with her. She's fine."

"She has cuts all over her face." Derek turned to look at Owen. "There's something wrong and he knows something about it."

Owen nodded his head slowly, looking Mark up and down. He then turned to look at Derek, his eyebrow raised. "He slept with her?"

"I didn't sleep with her!" Mark said, his voice loud. Taking a quick glance around, he lowered his voice. "I know nothing. Even if there was something wrong–"

"Something's wrong," Derek interjected.

"_If_ there's something wrong," Mark stressed. "Then, I know nothing about it. Why would I? It's not as if she confides in me."

There was a hint of resentment in his voice.

Derek nodded his head absently. "If there was something wrong….You're the best person to get information."

Mark looked at him as if he was crazy. "So now you think I'm good for her? A couple of hours ago you were warning me off her, saying she was too 'fragile.'"

"I just don't think you should _sleep_ with her," Derek said. "There's a difference."

"Oh really?" Mark said, his voice laced with heavy sarcasm.

"I'm just saying, she seems…There's something not right. And Meredith wants nothing to do with Lexie. I keep telling her she's her sister and that family matters but it doesn't seem to be working." Derek sighed. "I know she hasn't noticed her lately, but...If Lexie needed to talk to someone, as hard as it is for me to admit this, she would go to you, not Meredith."

Mark grunted. "Maybe. But that doesn't mean I would listen to her."

Owen's sudden laughter burst through the air and the two men turned to look at him. Owen raised his two hands. "I just think the denial that Sloan's experiencing is…really, _really_ funny."

"Want to elaborate on that, Hunt?" Mark gritted out, his voice stern.

"I just think that you _would_ listen to her." He looked at Derek who smiled back at him. "Maybe just to get in her pants, I don't know. But you would listen to her. We've seen the way you act with her."

Derek nodded and was about to say something when his pager beeped. He looked down and saw that it was Lexie. The scans must be ready. Slapping Mark on the arm as he walked by, Derek grinned at the death glare Mark aimed at him. It was always fun pissing Mark off.

* * *

Lexie looked away from the board when the door opened. She smiled gently when Derek walked through the door and gently closed it behind him. He smiled at her and then moved over to Mr. Robinson. Whilst checking his obs, Derek spoke. "Still unresponsive…"

He turned and walked up next to Lexie, looking at the MRI scans. He nodded slightly and pointed to the screen. "Can you tell me what this area here signifies?"

"Er, it looks like an…intracerebral hematoma," Lexie said, unsure of herself.

Derek nodded. "Correct." He then sighed and shook his head. "If we perform surgery, he'd lose more brain function…"

Lexie nodded. "Is there anything we _can_ do?"

Derek rubbed a hand over his face, knowing this wasn't a case they could win. Surgery would increase permanent brain damage and by the looks of it, his brain was already damaged enough as he wasn't responsive. Derek looked at Lexie, his face solemn. "There isn't much we can do."

Lexie looked at the man on the bed, her face softening. Despite his large figure, he appeared so small and fragile to her that it made the defeat and sadness overwhelm her. "Can't we do _something_? Anything?"

Derek shook his head and lightly placed a hand on Lexie's shoulder. "The bleeding into his brain tissue is extensive. Surgery would involve removing the underlying tissue to get to the hematoma and you and I both know that's risky." He glanced back at the man and sighed. "Has next-of-kin been informed?"

"I, er…I believe so."

"Okay. Page Dr. Torres. I want his broken arm seen to."

Derek was about to leave the room when Lexie spoke suddenly. "Sh-Shouldn't I page Dr. Sloan as well?" Lexie blushed when Derek turned around to look at her, his eyebrow raised. Automatically, she shrugged and fumbled through her explanation. "He, er, was in the ER, treating, Mr. Robinson's…burns. The burns on Mr. Robinson. Wouldn't D-Dr. Sloan, wouldn't he need to…assess them? Treat them before the next-of-kin arrive?"

Derek smiled slightly, amused, and shook his head. "Dr. Sloan patched up the burns to Mr. Robinson's arms in the ER. The nurses will redress the burns. There's no need for Dr. Sloan to be here."

"Oh. Oh, yes, okay." Lexie nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled awkwardly at Derek. "After paging Dr. Torres, should I stay with the patient until we…?"

Derek shook his head. "You don't need to be here for that, Lexie. Go home."

"Oh…but, my shift doesn't–"

Derek smiled. "Rest, Lexie. You need it." When she hesitated, Derek laughed slightly. "I'll cover for you if that's what you're worried about. I won't tell."

Lexie tried to smile. Getting into trouble for leaving her shift early wasn't why she was hesitant. Lexie swallowed and quickly nodded. She could always go somewhere else instead of the house. "Thank you, Dr. Shepherd."

Derek simply smiled at her and walked out of the room. After a beat, Lexie left the room also, before quickly paging Callie. She waited for her to arrive and when she did, Lexie felt her stomach drop at the sight of Callie with another doctor.

Mark.

Lexie attempted to smile but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She approached the two and waved her hand in the direction of Mr. Robinson's room. "Er, hi. Dr. Shepherd wants Mr. Robinson's broken bones to be er, seen to before his next-of-kin arrives."

Callie looked at her before asking the question she already knew the answer to. "Is there nothing we can do?"

Lexie shrugged, and the sadness once again swept over her. "I, don't think so…"

Noticing how upset Lexie appeared, Callie reached out and lightly squeezed her shoulder. "You know we can't save them all, Lexie."

"I know that, I know. I just…" She couldn't finish and instead averted her eyes, looking at the floor instead. She sighed and looked up at Callie, and from the corner of her eye, noticed Mark staring at her.

She refused to look at him.

Lexie indicated to the stretch of hallway behind Callie. "I-I have to…"

"Yeah, go ahead…" Callie said quietly and watched as Lexie quickly walked past Mark, without saying another word. Once she was gone, Callie raised an eyebrow. "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing," Mark said in a mono-tone voice as he walked past Callie and into Mr. Robinson's room. "Hurry up, so we can go to Joe's."

Callie huffed. "Don't tell me what to do. And Lexie seems to be getting weirder by the hour."

Mark nodded absently. "Fragile."

"What?"

"Oh, er, Derek said something about her being fragile."

Mark watched silently as Callie worked on Mr. Robinson. Lexie was acting strange and distant, and he knew he was probably pushing her further away because of his curt actions and mood swings. If Derek was right, if something _was_ wrong with her, Mark was sure she wouldn't want to confide in him now. He shouldn't be so abrupt with her. He should figure out another way to approach her. Less abrupt, and more…gentle? Mark frowned, was he even genetically set up to act that way? He didn't know, but it was clear that he would need to change his actions.

Or, there was another option. He could wait. He could wait until she came to him. That way, he would definitely know if something was wrong. He couldn't ask her, and then find out that there was nothing wrong and it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Mark frowned, no, there _was_ something wrong. She wasn't acting correctly – but then what was considered 'correct'?

No, something was going on. He _knew_ it. He was nearly certain.


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the great response. Sorry for the delay, but I've changed this chapter a zillion times, and I'm still not okay with it. Oh well. I've had this, and the next few chapters, planned for ages but went through a stage where I didn't know whether or not to change the plan. Anyway, I hope this is okay. It's a bit longer than usual, mainly because I couldn't decide where to stop. Let me know what you think! (:

* * *

After they had finished, Callie and Mark had left Mr. Robinson's room, intent on going to Joe's. As they walked through the hallway, they saw Derek approach them, a young blonde woman next to him. Her pale face held tracks of tears and it appeared as if her body was trembling.

Derek sent Mark a solemn look and slightly nodded his head. To outsiders, it may have looked like nothing, but to Mark it signaled that Derek would soon need a very large scotch. Mark made a mental note to order him one before he arrived.

As they continued down the hall, Callie turned to look up at Mark. He had been quiet throughout their time with Mr. Robinson and his silence had left Callie wondering. What was happening to him? Over the last couple of days – it was actually longer than that if she really put her mind to it and thought – Mark had been acting strange. More reserved, almost appearing deep in thought all the time.

It concerned Callie and so she spoke, trying to keep her voice light. "So, you gonna tell me what's going on in that mind of yours?" She let out a nervous laugh, "Unless, of course, it involves thoughts of you and one of the nurses 'cause although some of them are pretty hot–"

"Which one are you thinking about?" Mark asked, his voice low, holding some curiosity.

"Y'know Martha? She's _hot_…"

Mark shrugged. "She's alright. She does this one thing where she clen–"

"You've slept with her?" Callie squeaked, her hand lashing out to hit him on the arm.

"Ow," Mark grumbled, lightly rubbing his arm. "She's nothing special."

Callie snorted and shook her head. She was about to comment about his sex life when a thought occurred to her. "You didn't answer my question."

"You asked a question?"

"Yes," Callie said, her voice showing her annoyance as they rounded the corner towards the locker room. "I want to know what's going on in your mind. You're all spaced out."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are."

Mark shook his head and opened the locker room door. "You're deluded."

"And you're a slut. No-one's perfect. Now," Callie sat down on the bench and looked up at him expectantly. "Spill."

Mark glanced down at her and raised an eyebrow. "No."

"Mark," Callie whined. "I'm sick of this. I'm sick of the mood you've been stuck in. I know there's something wrong–"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Something is wrong and if you don't sort it out, I will kill you." Callie stood up and walked over to her own locker. She pulled it open and grabbed her clothes. Before she headed to the bathroom, she called out over her shoulder. "Either tell me, or sort it out. Whatever, just stop being so moody. It's getting on my nerves."

Mark watched as Callie shut the bathroom door behind her and then dropped his head onto the cold surface of his locker when she was out of sight. He didn't need her commenting on his state. First Derek and Owen, and then his own thoughts, and now Callie's opinion…It was all weighing him down. He knew something was wrong, he knew he had to do something about it, but he simply didn't know what to do or how to approach the topic.

He couldn't come right out and voice his thoughts to Lexie. That would surely scare her away. But he couldn't take it. He shouldn't be fighting off his instincts.

Quickly, Mark changed from his scrubs and just as he was putting on his leather jacket, Callie walked into his sight. Their eyes met and Mark sighed, giving in. "I'll sort it."

Callie began walking towards him, her eyebrow raised. "Promise?"

"I'll sort it."

"Okay," Callie said before linking her arm into his. "Now, Joe's."

Mark nodded slightly, his mind mulling over his options. "To Joe's," he murmured, feeling Callie lightly squeeze his arm. A drink would definitely help him.

* * *

Once in the bar, Mark and Callie immediately spotted Meredith at the bar talking with Joe. Walking over to her, the two sat on either side of her. Meredith looked between Callie and Mark and grinned. "Hey guys!"

Mark frowned at her and then looked up at Joe. "On a scale from 1 to 10, how drunk is she?"

"I'm not drunk!" Meredith squeaked before turning to Callie. "I hear you're a lesbian now."

Joe laughed and shrugged. "Call it a 7." He then paused and indicated his finger at Mark and Callie. "Usual?"

"Thanks, Joe," the two said simultaneously.

"How's that working for you?" Meredith asked Callie, oblivious to the conversation that had been going on.

"How's what working for me, Meredith?" Callie asked, slightly amused.

Meredith sighed in annoyance and whispered harshly, "Being a _lesbian_!"

"She's clueless," Mark replied for Callie, his voice deadpanned. When Joe placed his drink in front of him, a thought occurred to him and he looked up at Joe. "Hey, can I get another one of these? Derek's gonna be here soon."

"Derek!" Meredith squealed and turned around to face Mark. "How is he?"

"I'm not clueless," Callie muttered. "And Derek's fine. I'm not clueless. I know…stuff. I…I know my way around."

Meredith looked at Callie and then back at Mark. She frowned, a slight pout on her lips. "All this talking is…confusing."

Mark nodded absently and patted Meredith's shoulder. "Hang in there. Derek'll be here soon and he'll whisk you away. As always."

"Oh," Meredith said dreamily. "The whisking…"

Callie raised her eyebrow at Mark over Meredith's head. He rolled his eyes in response. As if on cue, the bell on the door rang and Mark glanced over his shoulder to see Derek walk in. Immediately, Derek spotted the trio and came over. Before he got a chance to speak, Meredith turned and wrapped her arms around him. "Derek!"

Derek looked down at his girlfriend and then raised his eyebrows at Mark and Callie. "How drunk is she?"

"Seven," Joe and Callie responded together.

"Ten," Mark grumbled before turning around and grabbing Derek's drink. "Sit down and you can have this."

"Okay…" Derek looked down at Meredith who was smiling against his shirt. "Okay, you wanna get off now?"

"No."

"Meredith…"

Meredith huffed and sat up in her seat. Suddenly, she slammed her hand on the bar top. "Tequila!"

"Oh God…" Derek laughed as he sat down next to Mark. Gratefully taking the scotch from him, Derek took a sip. Looking down the bar, he smiled when he saw Callie and Meredith taking tequila shots. Turning back to look down at his drink, Derek cautiously spoke. "So, about you doing something…"

"Drop it."

"Mark…"

"No, Derek," Mark said, his voice stern. "I have had enough of everyone telling me there's something wrong with Little Grey. I know. I know and if I want to, I'll do something about it. Until then, just drop it."

Derek was initially taken back by Mark's tone, but decided to do as he wished, and drop the subject. "You sure you're not sleeping with her?"

Mark turned to look at him, his glare enough to kill.

Derek held up his hands and shrugged. "Sorry I even asked…"

Mark grunted and then turned to look at Meredith and Callie. Quietly, he reached out and took one of the tequila shots that were lined up near Meredith. Without the women noticing, Mark downed the shot, not bothering touching the limes. Mark turned back and glanced at Derek, automatically glaring at the disapproving look Derek was giving him.

The two men continued to drink, not really speaking or paying attention to the women laughing next to them. Mark was deep in thought planning what he was going to say to Lexie, when a voice made him look up.

"Just gimme something!"

Mark groaned and turned to look at Derek, who was already on his feet. A few stools away from where Callie was sitting, Thatcher stood unsteady on his feet. It was obvious he was far too drunk for Joe to serve him more drink, but that didn't seem to faze Thatcher.

"I'm a paying customer! If I want a drink, you s-should give me one!"

"Sir, you've had enough–"

"Give me a drink!" Thatcher shouted, his hands resting on the bar to keep himself standing.

Thatcher slammed his fist down onto the bar top and the sound made Meredith jump. She turned and saw him, sobriety instantly washing over her. Quickly she looked at Derek, her eyes showing her fear.

Joe's voice caught their attention. "If you don't leave now, I'm calling the police."

Thatcher's hysterical laughter broke out and Derek sighed, walking over to stand behind him. "Thatcher…"

Thatcher swiveled around to see Derek, and his laughter stopped. He narrowed his eyes at him and then turned to the side, automatically spotting Meredith. The anger that filled him was almost instinctive. "You bitch, what are you doing here?"

"Thatcher," Derek said harshly. "Why don't you just–"

"No, no, no…" Thatcher swayed and moved to get closer to Meredith. Instantly, Callie and Meredith were out of their seats and moved to stand behind Derek. Thatcher stopped and stared at the spot where they had previously stood. He continued to stare for a moment before looking up at Mark. "You…" He frowned and then turned, his eyes landing on Meredith. "You…_You_."

"Thatcher–"

"No…" Thatcher said, annoyed that Derek was once again trying to stop him. "No. You…You aren't the bitch I want to talk to." He pointed his finger at Meredith. "This one. This…This…cold-hearted _bitch_. I want to talk to her."

"You don't get to talk to her when you're like this," Derek said, his voice showing his anger. It was taking everything in him to not punch Thatcher in the face. "Go home, Thatcher."

"I don't want to talk to you!" Thatcher screamed. "Her! I want to talk to her!"

"She doesn't want to talk to you."

Mark spun around to face Mark, his face showing his confusion. "What would y-you know about that?"

Mark stared at Derek over Thatcher's head before looking down at the drunk. "I just know. She doesn't care what you have to say. No-one does."

While Thatcher's back was turned, Derek leaned down to Meredith and whispered, "Go phone Lexie. Tell her to take him home."

Silently, Meredith nodded before turning and rushing towards the back of the bar.

* * *

After a long soak in the bath, Lexie smiled to herself as she walked over to the shelves on her wall. It had been a relief to find the house empty and now, Lexie was determined to relax. She wouldn't worry; she wouldn't strain her ears to see if there were any noises coming from the other rooms. She was alone, she was safe. She would relax.

Her eyes scanned the shelf for a certain DVD spine and when she found it, Lexie let out a little squeal. The songs from RENT had been going around in her head for the most part of today, and now Lexie would finally get to re-watch one of her favorite movie musicals.

Slotting the DVD into the player, Lexie went to lie in her bed. She smiled when the opening scene unfolded, the music from the song she had been humming a few hours before, on full blast before her. Just as Angel entered the screen, clad in her bright clothing and high heels, Lexie heard her cell vibrate on her bedside table. Reluctantly Lexie paused the DVD and picked up her cell.

_Meredith._

Sighing, she flipped open the phone and attempted to sound cheerful. "Hey, what's up?"

The noise in the background caused Lexie to strain to hear what her sister had to say. "Lexie! You have to get down here...He's causing a scene."

"What?"

"Your dad. _Our_ dad," Meredith shouted down the line, before glancing over her shoulder to see Derek and Mark trying to calm Thatcher down. "Joe refuses to serve him, but he won't leave. Come over and get him, will you?"

Lexie groaned, so much for her night alone, she thought. "Can't you and Derek drive him over?" She pleaded, unwilling to leave the warmth and safety of her room.

"Lexie, he's your father. He won't let anyone near him. Just get down here. Please."

Lexie pulled the phone away from her ear at the sound of the dial tone. Groaning, she got off her bed and proceeded to pull on her boots. She didn't want to deal with a drunken Thatcher tonight. If Meredith had just left him alone, he would have moved onto another bar and probably slept in his car tonight. Now, Lexie would have to deal with more of his shit.

_Great._

* * *

Opening the door to Joe's, Lexie walked in to see Thatcher shouting at Meredith, his stance aggressive, with Derek at her side, his emotions barely contained.

She noticed that Mark was standing in between Thatcher and the other two, and Lexie found herself relieved at the sight. For some reason, it comforted her to know he was trying to handle the situation. Slowly, she walked over to the group, catching the end of Thatcher's insults.

"You're an ungrateful bitch!" He shouted, his body swaying forward, only being stabilized by Mark's vice-like grip on his arm. "You...you..._you_ are a miserable bitch, just like your bitch of a mother!"

Lexie looked desperately at Meredith, noticing the shine in her eyes. She didn't deserve this, not after everything he had put her through. Moving forward, Lexie spoke, her voice oddly strong. "Stop it."

Derek and Mark looked at Lexie, who had a similar torn expression on her face, reflecting Meredith's.

Thatcher continued. "You're the reason we weren't happy. We were happy before you!"

Lexie raised her voice, "Dad. Stop it!"

"She wouldn't have had an affair if you w-weren't alive! We s-should have aborted you when we had the chance!"

"Shut up, dad!" Lexie shouted, alerting Meredith and Thatcher to her presence. Lexie sighed heavily, and tried to regulate her breathing. Moving forward, Lexie grabbed Thatcher by the arm. "Stop it. Just stop it. Stop blaming her because it isn't her fault her mother fell in love with another man. It isn't her fault mom's dead. So, just for once shut up!"

Thatcher looked at Lexie, his eyes wild. "You can't talk to me like that," he said, his voice low. "You can't talk to me like that," he shouted, his loud voice making Lexie flinch.

Looking up at Mark, she nodded for him to let go of Thatcher's arm and there was a brief moment where he stared at her, as if he thought she was crazy. But then, albeit reluctantly, he did. Taking Thatcher by both arms, Lexie stood in front of him. "I'm sorry," she said her voice low. "But now, let's just go home."

Thatcher shook his head. "You can't talk to me like that! I'm your father!"

Without giving Lexie anytime to react, Thatcher quickly raised his arms and tried to shove Lexie away from him. They struggled but Lexie held on and quickly glanced up at Mark, who had taken a step forward in an attempt to help her. She looked back at Thatcher and quickly shoved him away, to stop him from pushing her. It was something she had wanted to do for a long time.

Running a shaky hand through her hair, Lexie looked at her father who was trying to remain stable on his feet. She glanced around, and her gaze fell on Joe who was looking torn between chucking them all out and helping them.

Lexie turned to face Thatcher and a sudden anger flared up inside her. After a long, tiring day she had had enough. She didn't need to put up with this. Not in public. She found her voice. "If you don't want to go home with me now, then that's fine. Sleep in your goddamn car for all I care, just _stop_ being so difficult. You're drunk, dad. You are a drunk. It would be in your best interest to come with–"

"Don't tell me what to do, you bitch!" Thatcher exploded and walked forward, his finger pointing at her. Suddenly, he was inches away from her face, his finger poking into her chest. "You fucking dirty bitch! I'm your _father_! Don't tell me what to do!"

Lexie blinked back the tears that had formed in her eyes and turned around to look at Meredith, who was now huddled up to Derek's side, carefully watching the scene before her. Lexie felt the anger rise in her as she watched Meredith do nothing. "I know you wanted me to take him home tonight, but trust me, when he's like this, it's best for everyone that he sleeps on the streets."

"Lexie," Meredith choked out, her voice low. It didn't matter how insulting he was, he was drunk. He didn't mean it, Meredith had to convince Lexie that. If she couldn't look after her father, then at least Lexie could. "He's your father. You can't let him–"

"I know he's my father!" Lexie shouted, unable to remain calm. "He's your father too!" Lexie glanced in between Meredith and Derek, her breathing becoming more erratic. "Don't you think I _know_ he's my father? Don't you think I know I'm a useless daughter for not being able to take care of my own father? I know he's my father but he's a drunk!"

Thatcher narrowed his eyes at Lexie and moved forward, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder. "Are you talking about me?" He asked, his voice showing his confusion.

Quickly, Lexie shrugged of his hand and shook her head at Meredith. "I-I can't do it anymore, Meredith. I can't do this...I can't." Lexie spun on her heel and shoved Thatcher out of her way. When he grabbed her arm, Lexie let out a cry and shoved him. Thatcher fell on the floor. She looked down, and felt tears blurring her vision. "He can die for all I care. I'm done!"

Lexie rushed out of the bar without looking back. Once outside, the cold air hit her and she felt her eyes burn. Her chest heaved and Lexie closed her eyes, not ready to cry over this. She wouldn't cry, she would not cry. Instead, she began to count in her mind, forcing herself to remain calm, when she heard the door open behind her. Her eyes snapped open and she looked behind her.

Mark.

Not knowing what else to do, Lexie turned around and hurried to her car, which was parked across the street. She wasn't ready to talk to anyone about what had just happened. Unlocking her car, Lexie fumbled with the handle, opened the door and rushed in. She sat still, her breathing erratic.

A knock on the window startled her and Lexie looked up to see Mark peering at her. He straightened and the next thing she knew, he had walked around the car so that he could open the passenger door to her car. He got in silently and they both sat in silence for a minute, before Lexie spoke.

"You're in my car," she whispered.

Mark nodded. "I'm in your car."

"Why?"

Mark turned his head to look at her, his eyes taking in the marks on her face, the bags under her eyes. If he asked her about scars she would once again say she tripped. Or walked into something. It was always something like that. He shook his head slightly, not anymore. Now, he knew. He knew better.

"I thought you would want to talk," he replied, his voice low.

Lexie looked at him and she felt like crying. She wanted to talk, but she couldn't make her mind form the words. Instead she turned away from him and looked out of her side window. She watched as the door to Joe's opened and Thatcher staggered out. He looked around, as if not knowing where he was, before he turned to the direction of his parked car. Lexie continued to watch as the door opened again and Meredith and Derek stepped out, Derek's arm wrapped securely around her shoulders. They walked in the opposite direction.

"I don't know what to say, Dr. Sloan," Lexie said as she continued to stare out the window. "I suggest you go home because...I, I have nothing to say."

"Could have fooled me."

Lexie turned around to face him, her eyes narrowed. "And what is that meant to mean?"

"You clearly look like you want to talk to someone, why else would have shouted at Meredith?"

"I-I didn't shout...And, has it ever occurred to you that I said those things because she d-deserved it?"

Mark nodded slowly, "Good point…But, you should still talk to someone."

Lexie snorted. "And you're the best person for me to talk to?"

Mark shrugged. "If you want to talk, I'm here. You've seemed to have the urge to talk to me about your problems in the past. I'm just saying I don't care if you want to talk to me or not, I'm just here."

Lexie sighed and turned to face the windshield. Placing her hands on the steering wheel, she asked, "Do you want me to drive you to the Archfield?"

"No."

Lexie nodded, and turned on the ignition. "We're not friends, are we?"

Mark paused. "That depends."

Lexie shifted into gear and slowly reversed. "On what?"

"At work, I'm your attending."

Moving out of the parking space, Lexie began driving in the direction of her house. "And out of work?"

"...I'm just a guy."

Lexie nodded, her hands gripping the steering wheel tighter. "I don't want to talk to anyone about my problems. My problems are just that, _my_ problems. All I need...All I need right now, is..." Lexie faltered, her mind searching for the right words. "I don't know. I…I need..._something_."

Mark nodded slowly. He turned to look at her and she swallowed nervously, her eyes remaining forward. After all that had happened, Mark figured that he could do this for her. He could help her, he knew it.

He continued to stare at her as he quietly spoke. "Something...Okay. I can be that."


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the great response. I'm glad everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, I wasn't too sure of it. This may not be what people expected, but then, I don't really know if it's what I expected. Anyway, please, let me know what you think! (:

* * *

As they approached the house, Lexie noticed that the lights were out. It was a good sign, she knew that. He wasn't home. He was gone, he wasn't home. She knew that, and even though she was slightly comforted by the presence of Mark behind her, Lexie felt the nerves crawl up her spine. He could come home at any moment; she knew that fact all too well.

Lexie let out a small sigh, she was being paranoid. Again. Carefully, she opened the front door and switched on the hallway light. Walking in, closely followed by Mark, she looked around nervously before she opened the living room door. The lights were out – he wasn't home. His car wasn't in the drive; the lights had been out, the house empty. He must have left to go terrorize another bar. Although she knew this, Lexie couldn't help but stick to her routine of checking before she entered a room.

Walking into the living room, she turned to see Mark stand in the doorway, his hands shoved into his jeans pockets awkwardly. She gave him a small, shy smile, "Can I get you a drink?"

"I don't think we should drink," he said, his voice soft.

Lexie shook her head. "I need a drink." She turned and walked to the drinks cabinet. It was nearly empty. "There isn't much in here, dad's drunk most of it and probably hasn't had time to stock up, but..." She reached around some of the bottles and pulled out a liter bottle of tequila. She showed it to Mark proudly. "Shots?"

He smiled slightly, "I'm more of a scotch man, myself."

"Too bad," Lexie said, collecting two shot glasses and the salt shaker from the cabinet. "You're stuck with this." She glanced back, "Or a bottle of gin."

Mark laughed, and walked towards her. He stood close to her, invading her personal space. He saw her swallow nervously and couldn't help but smirk. "Where do you keep the limes?"

"Err, the, the kitchen. The kitchen, obviously," she laughed slightly, flustered by his proximity. She raised the items in her hands and quickly turned on her heel to walk over and place the glasses and bottle onto the table. She turned back to see an amused Mark. "I'll...Just go get them," she said, gesturing in the direction of the kitchen behind him.

Mark watched her walk past him, her head down, and his eyes softened at the sight of her. "You do that," he muttered before going to sit on the couch.

* * *

"Mark," Lexie whined from her place on the floor. "You're hogging the teckwela!"

Mark laughed loudly and held up the half empty bottle of tequila. "The what?"

"The teck–teqwela!"

Mark laughed and began swinging the bottle above his head, completely amused by the drunken woman in front of him. He sat back against the couch, the bottle firmly in his grip. "Say it properly and I might give it back to you."

Lexie huffed, and sat up on her knees. She leaned forward and tried to grab the bottle but missed. Defeated, she sat back on her knees. "You…you, Dr. S-Sloan, are _not_ a nice man."

"I know."

Lexie pouted briefly before reaching forward, placing her hands on his knees. Leaning up again, she carefully placed herself in between his knees, her hands slowly moving up his thighs.

Mark sighed; he was drunk, but he wasn't that drunk. "Grey," he warned.

Lexie looked up at him, her eyes wide, a small, teasing smile on her lips. "Dr. Sloan..."

Sighing, Mark leaned forward so his face was closer to hers. He watched as she lowered her eyes shyly. "I'm just a guy, Grey."

She looked at him. "I know," she whispered.

"And you're drunk," he continued, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I know."

Mark lowered his eyes to her hand when he felt her fingers run closer to his inner thigh. "You know what you're doing, don't you?"

Lexie swallowed, she knew exactly what she was doing. She wasn't even that drunk anymore. Right now, all she cared about was feeling normal. Wanted.

"Yes," she said as she slowly stood up, remaining in between his knees. She leaned forward and carefully took the bottle of forgotten tequila out of his hand and placed it on the floor next to them.

She wasn't sure whether it was the alcohol that was giving her this strength, or the weight of today. Whatever the reason, Lexie felt something pull at her, urge her to do _something_. She needed this, she needed to do this.

Her hands floated to the bottom of her jumper and after a second of hesitation, she lifted it over head. She saw Mark's eyes darken, the little bit of restraint he had chip away. She swallowed, and a continuous prayer ran through her mind: _please, let him not be repulsed. _Just as slowly, she lifted her tank-top over her head and tossed it to the floor.

_Please, let him not be repulsed._

She needed him to want her. After everything she had been called, after everything she had gone through – the slaps, the punches, the kicks, the taunts – she just needed to feel wanted. Even if it was for a brief drunken moment.

_Please._

His eyes widened slightly at the sight of her. Her delicately white skin was tainted by fading contusions in places, mainly around the abdomen. The light greens and yellows plagued her skin in a pattern that was oddly consistent – the bruises wrapping around her body with a simple ease.

He noticed that her breathing was shaky and he raised his eyes from her secret to her shadowed eyes. All this time, all this time he had suspected, he had wondered, but had never done anything about it. Mark had always prided himself on going with his gut feeling, but this time, the confusion, the conflicting emotions, they had built up inside him and had prevented him from taking action. He hadn't reacted. He had done nothing.

_Nothing._

If he knew sooner, maybe, maybe he could have saved her.

"Say something."

Her hushed voice caught him by surprise. The look of anxiety on her face made him want to draw her to him and never let go. It was an odd feeling, the need to protect someone else, but at that moment, the urge was so insistent, so raw, that it shocked Mark. Nervously, he licked his lips before speaking. "How long?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out what he wanted to know, but Lexie didn't want to give exact figures. It would make it seem real. She simply replied, "Too long."

"You never told anyone."

_You never told me._

Lexie shook her head. "No-one needed to know."

Mark's eyes reflected the hurt he felt. "I would have wanted to know. I would have stopped it."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do." Mark stared at her, amazed she was arguing about this. "If you had told me like you were supposed to, I would have stopped it."

Lexie let out a small, humorless laugh. "Like I was supposed to?"

Mark sighed, "You know what I mean."

"No, Dr. Sloan. I don't."

"Lexie, that doesn't matter now." His jaw clenched as he looked at the bruises. "I could have stopped it."

Lexie shook her head. "No…"

Mark sighed, his eyes burning from looking at her body. He couldn't understand why her own father would want to hurt her. He tried to stop himself, he shouldn't think about that now. If he continued to think about that bastard, he would become angry and he doubted that was what Lexie needed right now.

Trying to remain calm, he looked up at her. "Why didn't you say something?"

Tears filled her eyes and she found herself giving a half-shrug. "Because…Because it doesn't matter."

"God, Lexie..." How could she believe that? How could she convince herself that letting someone hurt her didn't matter? What had he done to her to make her believe this? He spoke, his voice soft. "Of course it does."

When Mark showed no intention to move, Lexie reached around her back to unclasp her bra. Tearing it away from her skin and dropping it to the floor, she stared at him, her eyes shining. This was it.

"I, I don't want to talk," she said, her voice oddly calm. "For once, I don't want to talk about anything. I…I just want a guy. Tonight, I just need a guy, Dr. Sloan."

Mark looked at her for a beat, calculating what the best thing to do would be. Quickly making up his mind, he stood up slowly and Lexie took a step back. He stared at her, wondering if he was just making matters worse. He should tell her to put on her top. He should leave. He should leave and forget this ever happened. But…He reached for the bottom of his t-shirt and lifted it over his head. He held the crumpled t-shirt in his hand for a moment, waiting for her to do something, anything, to show him that this was what she truly needed.

Lexie reached out to take it from him. She dropped it to the floor, next to her bra.

Moving closer to her, his hand went up to cup the side of her face. Her eyes closed automatically and he leaned down to her. He hadn't realized, but now as she stood in front of him, Mark realized that he had wanted to do this. For so long, this feeling, the one that had been stored away at the back of his mind, it had wanted to be released. This simple desire that was now slowly filling him…he wanted to do this, and now, he was getting his chance. It didn't matter they had had too much to drink, or that they were standing in her living room. It didn't matter that she was an intern and he was her boss. It didn't matter that she was upset and he should know better. This is what she needed, and for too long this was what he needed too.

Slowly, gently, his lips brushed against hers. "It's not Dr. Sloan," he said, his lips moving across hers. "Not tonight."

"Mark."

Her voice was like a strangled, angelic prayer. He wasn't doing the wrong thing, he had now convinced himself. She needed this; she needed this to make her forget. It would allow her to feel...normal. He was almost convinced.

Mark kissed her. His lips slid against hers and Lexie groaned from the simple pleasure it brought. Slowly, he brought his other hand up to caress the side of her breast. Lexie moaned into his mouth when he touched his tongue to hers. Carefully, he let go of her.

"Mark..." Lexie watched as he sighed and brought two fingers and his thumb to rub his temple. She moved forward, resting her hands against his bare chest. "Please..." She leaned up and placed a delicate kiss to his collar bone. "Please." Moving upwards, she placed a kiss on the underside of his chin, before moving her lips across his neck. "Please..." She kissed his cheek, her lips remaining there when she spoke again, "Just for tonight."

All of a sudden, everything that had happened tonight flashed before his eyes. He saw Meredith and the anxious look on her face when confronted by a drunken Thatcher. He saw Thatcher, heard his insults, felt the anger. He saw a broken Lexie in the bar, in the car, on the floor moments ago.

Something snapped inside of him and Mark found himself reach out and pull Lexie closer to him. Her body was flush against his, her head carefully tucked under his chin, and he securely wrapped his arms around her. Her tears ran down his neck, her sadness washing over him, her soft whispers begging him, and Mark hugged her tighter, reassuring her, unwilling to let her go.

"Just for tonight..."


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the reviews. I was nervous over the last chapter, and I'm even more nervous over this one. I've had this done from the start, but I muddled over this countless times, too afraid to post it sooner. Don't be afraid to tell me you didn't like it. Anyway, please, let me know what you think! (:

* * *

They stood like that, with her wrapped safely in his arms, for what felt like an eternity. It was odd for Mark, to feel so content in just holding someone, but as he felt Lexie's hot breath on his neck, felt her fingers grip onto his bare back, Mark realized that this was right. Holding her close, protecting her, it stirred something inside him. It made him feel good, as if what he was doing now could really help her – save her.

It was an unrealistic thought, simply holding someone could not save them from the distressing reality they lived in, but at this moment, Mark felt as if he could, and would eventually, save Little Grey.

He closed his eyes and enjoyed feeling her so close to him, her heartbeat steady against his own, when he heard her sigh deeply. Slowly, Lexie reluctantly pulled away, stepping out of his arms. She looked at him, her eyes not revealing any emotion, and saw the despair in his eyes.

She tried to smile. "I don't want you to look at me like that," she whispered. "I…I don't need you to…pity me."

"I don't pity you. I…feel sad. In general. And I think it's best I feel that instead of the anger that I'm trying to keep hold of. Because, as much as I like the image, I don't think you'd appreciate Hunt having to work on your…on _Thatcher_."

The way he had said it, so harsh and factual, Lexie found herself relieved that he felt like that. It was shameful to think she wanted him to feel the need to hurt her father – he was after all still her father – however, the way he said it, so incredibly protective, it made Lexie feel warm inside, sending a blush to her cheeks.

"I don't want you to do anything stupid," she said, her eyes avoiding his.

"Beating the crap out of him isn't a stupid thing to do, Lexie."

Lexie looked over Mark's shoulder, focusing on the wall behind him as tears pricked her eyes. The rational side of her mind was telling her that Mark was right, that she should allow someone to hurt Thatcher like he had done with her, but the emotional side, the side that sounded much like her mother's, was telling her that he was still family. He was her family, her blood. You shouldn't hurt your family.

Her voice came out as a choked whisper, "He's still my dad."

Mark shook his head. He could feel himself getting worked up, but he wouldn't shout at her. It was clear what she thought, that Thatcher was still her family, and you protect family members – he felt the same way when it came to Derek, after all – but had she forgotten that _he_ had hurt _her_? That it didn't matter that she was his family, his daughter, his blood – he had purposely hurt her.

"He should never have laid a hand on you."

Lexie blinked, trying not to cry. "He's the only family that I have. M-Meredith doesn't care. I…I don't want you to hurt my family."

"Lexie," Mark said, his voice stern. "I won't touch him. I want to, but I won't." He paused for a moment, attempting to bite his tongue, but then, as always, decided against it. She needed to hear this, and they needed to talk about this. "Have you ever thought that although you may care about family, that he doesn't give a shit? If he cared, he wouldn't have hurt you."

Lexie shook her head and took a step back from Mark. "No…" Her face trembled as she desperately tried to remain calm. The hope of doing so was quickly deteriorating. "I…_No_. I…I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"We have to talk about this sometime," Mark reminded her.

"No…"

Mark watched as a tear slipped down Lexie's cheek and instantly he felt bad. He shouldn't be making her cry, he knew that, and yet for some reason, he knew this was good for her. Talking about it…He knew all too well that she shouldn't keep this to herself. It didn't matter that the look on her face would haunt him, he had to help her, and this would help.

He steeled himself for her reaction, and then continued. "Unlike you, he didn't care that you're his family. When he beat the crap out of you, I'm sure he wasn't worrying about family like you are now."

His biting words stopped her tears. A chill ran over Lexie and she stared at Mark, her eyes wide in horror. Why was he doing this to her? Why was he insisting on talking about this? Couldn't he see how upset she was, how afraid she really felt? Lexie opened her mouth to speak, but no words formed. She wanted to shout at him, to let out the emotion that was building up inside her, making it feel as if she was going to explode at any second, but then, she also wanted to run. Running would keep her from his mean words. It would protect her, it would stop him, it would give him no time to think. Or she could…

Rushing towards him, her body crashed into his. Fingers flying over his skin like fire: hot, quick, powerful, desperate. Her lips smashing into his, forcing him to feel her, accept her. Frantically, Lexie kissed Mark, needing this to stop him.

It didn't.

"Lexie…" Mark said, his hands resting on her shoulders. "Lexie, stop." Prying himself away from her, he held her at arm's length. He watched carefully as she stared at him, shock displayed clearly on her face.

He sighed heavily; he never realized how confused Lexie must be. Did she really think sex was all he was capable of? Right now, he wanted to help her, not sleep with her. Of course, he had his weak moments, but he was human. He was only human.

"Lexie…We…" He sighed as he watched her look down at her feet. "I'm sorry."

She felt the defeat hit her in waves and suddenly she realized that she was still half-naked. She was half-naked, bruised and battered, and had just been rejected. Lexie blushed – whether it was from embarrassment or anger, she wasn't exactly sure – and moved around Mark to the couch. She picked up the blanket that was draped over the top of it, and wrapped it over her small frame.

As soon as she felt the warmth cover her, it was as if her mind cleared. Lexie hadn't realized what she was doing. Through all the thoughts that were running through her mind, all the emotions that were desperate to burst, the thought of continuing with what she had planned – actually _sleeping_ with Mark Sloan – it was now overwhelming.

Sensing her worried thoughts, Mark sighed softly and walked over to her. Slowly wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he began to lightly rub her arm. "How about we take you to bed?" He asked gently.

Lexie nodded and they started towards the stairs. This was a change, a side of Mark she had rarely seen and for him to act this way now, it was all too much for her. She knew it wouldn't last long. The thought saddened Lexie. For once, she wanted to be with a man that didn't change his actions when they were around other people. George had done that, he had ignored her and her feelings for him when they were at the hospital. Lexie knew Mark would be like that.

Opening the door to her room, Lexie flicked on the switch. Her eyes zoned onto her bed and a sudden fatigue washed over her. It had been a long day and an even longer night, all she needed now was sleep. She made her way over to her bed and sat on the edge. She looked at Mark and noticed that he was standing by her door, a strange, faraway look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

Mark's eyes snapped into focus, and he tried to smile. "Nothing."

Lexie raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe you."

Mark sighed and rubbed a hand over the back of his head. "It doesn't matter," he said in a hurry. "Just…Just get some rest."

Lexie shook her head. "No." He had wanted to talk to her earlier, why couldn't he now?

"Lexie," Mark said desperately. "Just, just go to bed. We can talk in the morning." He looked around the room and then turned around, heading towards the door.

"Where you going?"

Her question had been said in a rushed, anxious voice and it made Mark's stomach drop. She was afraid. He knew that. And yet, his hand was on the doorknob. "I'm going downstairs to put on my shirt. Then, I'm going to walk out of the house and see you at work tomorrow."

"You can't."

"Lexie..."

Lexie wanted to rush to her feet and go over to him, to turn him around and hug him. She wanted to do something to stop him from leaving, but for some reason, she was stuck in place. Previously, when she had wanted to stop him from talking, she had kissed him. It was stupid, and useless, but that was all she could think of. Now, she wanted to stop him again, but she couldn't move. She couldn't move. All she could do was talk.

"He used to come into my room. When I was asleep."

Mark's hand tightened on the doorknob. Great, _now_ she wanted to talk. When all he wanted to do was leave and forget he nearly slept with her, she wanted to talk. He thought he could, he had wanted to believe that he could do this but…He really couldn't handle this.

"H-He would think I was asleep," Lexie said, her hands clutching the blanket around her. "I, I was awake. Of course I was. He doesn't know how to open a door quietly and, and he would slam the door shut, not caring that I was trying to sleep. He would trip on the rug and curse and it was just so loud that no-one would be able to sleep through that. He…He never realized how loud he was."

Lexie saw the muscles in Mark's tense and she wanted to stop. He didn't need to know this. It would ruin the image he had of her. She didn't know exactly what he thought of her, but if he knew everything, then he would see her differently. She knew that, but she had started now. There was no way she could stop.

"My door creaks. I don't know if you noticed it, but it creaks. I, I would lie in bed and hear the door creak and I would know that…that something was going to happen. Er, he would normally stand there. W-Where you are now. He would s-stand there and…and watch me sleep and I would clutch at my blankets and hope he didn't realize my breathing was erratic, because then he would come and sit down on my, my bed and I hated when he...did that."

Mark wanted to move. He didn't want to be standing where Thatcher had stood so many times before. But, he couldn't bring himself to move. He wanted to walk out the door, run down the stairs and leave. But then....he wanted to turn around and embrace Lexie, hold her body close to his and make her stop. She didn't want to talk. Why was she talking now? Did she feel like it was necessary, that it was the only way he would care? Mark didn't know. He didn't know what to do.

Mark squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them abruptly. It all came crashing down on him. Her door creaked. He would sit on her bed. At night. And watch her. Suddenly, he felt sick. Slowly, he turned around to face her. He leaned against the door. She looked so tiny, wrapped up in the large blanket. Her hands were small and white and were gripping onto the blanket like her life depended on it. His eyes swept across her face and Mark realized he had never seen someone so beautiful before.

He was about to open his mouth to tell her she didn't need to say anything else, but then she continued before he got the chance.

"Sometimes he would just sit at the foot of my bed and tap my foot. I…I've never really understood why he does that, but then, when you're drunk you do stupid things..." Lexie paused, a small frown on her face. "He...would run his hand up my leg. And, and I would want to...hurt him. To _really_ hurt him so he would just stop. I know that he's my family, and I don't want any harm to come to him, but when he…did that, I wanted to hurt him _so_ much. But…I never tried to kick him. I-I never tried to fight back and I know it's stupid, and I know I'm stupid and pathetic and weak, but I just thought he would stop. That he would realize that I'm his _daughter_, his little girl, and that he would just...stop."

Lexie looked up at Mark and swallowed nervously, her eyes watery and afraid. "I always wondered if he realized that it was me in the bed. And not someone else. Maybe…Maybe that would explain it. That it was the drink doing it to him, p-playing mind games on him, and it wasn't what he wanted. He never wanted to hurt me. He would never want to hurt me. He would never remember the next day…so, he…he never wanted to hurt me."

"Lexie..."

Mark's voice was harsh, strangled, barely containing his emotions. He looked at her with a pleading face. She knew he wanted her to stop, but she couldn't. She hadn't told anyone this and it had been eating at her – all her questions, all her thoughts, the memories, the clear images that plagued her mind. She had begun and now, there was no way in stopping it.

"He never..." Lexie stopped, her eyes snapping up to Mark's. "Do you remember that night I came into the ER?"

How could he forget, the white gauze covering her cheek had been burnt into his memory. "Yes."

"He had come into my room that night," Lexie whispered, the tears threatening to spill. "He had thought I was Ellis."

Mark watched silently as she brought a hand up to wipe at her face. He should be next to her. He should be comforting her. Mark knew this, and yet he was...afraid. Unlike before, he was now afraid that if he touched her, she would break. And so, he stood there, back against her bedroom door, waiting until she made an indication that she wanted his comfort.

"He said I was never home, that I chose the hospital over our family. Of course, I knew he wasn't talking to me, _about_ me." Lexie let out a shaky breath, and felt her bottom lip shaking. "He kept shouting at me, and I was so scared. I, I just wanted him to leave but he never did that so I just kept praying that he would hit me." She let out a small laugh, her nose scrunching in distaste. "How sick is that? That I was actually _pleading_ with some kind of God for my father to punch me so that I could be alone again. But...But…" She began shaking her head, her body trembling, the sobs threatening to flow out. "Mark..." Her voice was strangled, but somehow she managed to choke out the words through her sobs. "H-he was on top of me."

She couldn't go on. Her chest heaved, trying to catch her breath, as tears ran down her cheeks. Her mind flashed with the images of his face, red, trembling, violent. Lexie looked at Mark and as soon as she opened her mouth to speak again, he jolted into action.

It didn't matter that he could be making things worse. It didn't matter that he was afraid to comfort her, in case she was too scared to be touched by him. All that mattered was that he was there. He knew and he hadn't run in the opposite direction.

He could handle this.

He could do this.

Mark sat down on the bed next to her and slowly snaked his arms around her. Relief flooded him when she moved closer to him. "You don't need to say anything else," he whispered. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Lexie tried to slow down, but it didn't seem to be working. Her body heaved against his and she held onto him as if she was drowning. "H-He…He came at me with a…broken beer bottle."

His arms tightened around her, his body slightly rocking hers. "I know. I know."

"I'm so sorry. I-I'm so sorry," she whispered, her breaths becoming more regular. "I'm sorry."

"Don't."

"I should have told you. I should have told you. I should have–"

"Stop it," Mark said as he rested his head on top of hers. "You have nothing to apologize about. So stop it."

"I denied it," Lexie said as moved to wrap her arm around his waist. "I shouldn't have. I…I guess I was...afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"I, I don't know...I was afraid you'd...think less of me." Lexie shrugged, her head hurting, "I don't know."

"You realize that's crazy."

Lexie sighed softly, enjoying the feel of his warm skin against her cheek. "I know."

Mark glanced down and saw her eyes were closed. He rubbed her arms lightly. "You should get some sleep."

Lexie held onto his waist tighter. "Mmm."

"I need to leave."

"You don't _need_ to leave. You think it's best to leave."

Lexie pulled away from him before carefully opening the blanket slightly. She then wrapped her arm around him, with one side of the blanket securely in her hand. She pulled her other arm around him, allowing for the blanket to be draped around both their bodies. When she had first moved, Mark had let go of her and allowed his arms to rest on either side of his body. Because of his position, Lexie smiled slightly and snuggled up to his arm.

Her naked chest now against his arm.

Mark swallowed, he could feel her, _really_ feel her, and he knew the sensible thing would to move and leave the room. She had been through a lot today and she had tried to initiate something between them and that idea had failed. It had been the correct decision because Mark knew, if they had continued, she would feel so much guilt in the wake of it. He should leave. He shouldn't be in this position, it was not a safe position, and he knew that.

But he didn't want her to be alone. Not anymore. He licked his lips, still contemplating what to do, and then slowly removed his arm. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side.

Lexie smiled shyly and slowly brought one hand to rest against his waist, her fingers delicately resting against the waistband of his jeans. "Are you going to leave?"

He didn't even have to think it over. "No," he replied. "Not anymore."


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** I am so sorry for the delayed update. It's taken me longer than usual, I know, and I'm terribly sorry. I honestly think this chapter isn't as great as the others. I tried to set the foundations between these two, but I don't think it worked. They're both confused at the moment, which helps seeing as I'm confused myself. Anyway, things will be building up again, hopefully, if things go to plan!

Well, that's enough of my blabbering. Sorry, once again, and let me know what you think! (:

* * *

She didn't know how they got in the position they were in now. Lying against the pillows, both of their sides, Lexie's leg wrapped in between his, his arm draped across her waist – it felt safe.

She was wearing her Harvard jersey. Lexie frowned, when did she put on the shirt? Just as she thought it, an image flashed in her mind. She was sitting on the bed, blanket wrapped around her, leaning against the headboard. She was watching carefully as Mark went through her closet. He had retrieved the old jersey and held it up cautiously. She had made a comment about him being threatened, seeing as she was an intern and had graduated from a better medical school.

He had called her an idiot. And then came to sit next to her, slowly helping her to slip on the piece of clothing.

Lexie felt herself warm from the memory. She could still feel the way his fingers brushed against her skin. Just as quickly as the last, another image flashed before her eyes. They were lying against the pillows, staring at her cracked ceiling. Her head was resting lightly against his chest, her auburn hair tickling his bare chest, his arm loosely wrapped around her, his fingers aimlessly rubbing at the hem of her jersey.

As Lexie saw the image, she smiled at how...domestic it seemed. It was an odd thought, Mark Sloan and _domestic_ rarely fitted together, but Lexie couldn't think of a better word. It was strange to her, certainly new, that he could be so gentle. That when it mattered, he was just a normal guy that cared. Last night, he hadn't been Mark Sloan, man-whore, Head of Plastics as well as the Dirty Mistresses Club. He was just Mark – a man who wanted to help her.

Suddenly, Lexie felt pressure on her leg and she shifted uncomfortably. She glared when she noticed the smirk on Mark's face.

"That's not very pleasant," Lexie said, and removed her leg from his grip.

Mark groaned and attempted to pull her closer with the arm that was still securely draped over her side. "I'm not a very pleasant man."

Lexie snorted. "I hadn't realized."

"Mmm, funny," Mark muttered, his eyes still closed. "Go back to sleep."

"I'm not tired."

"Go to sleep."

"No," Lexie replied, slightly amused. She moved closer, placing both hands against his chest, her face in line with his neck. She leaned in slightly and placed a kiss on his Adam's apple, unable to resist.

Mark didn't open his eyes. "Why did you do that?"

Lexie hesitated for a moment. At first it had been impulsive, a sudden desire that had flared up inside her, but now that she had been questioned she realized something important. "Because I wanted to kiss you," Lexie replied quietly, a small smile playing on her lips.

Her reply made him open his eyes. He looked down at the top of her head. Kissing and Lexie were two things that shouldn't be put together in his mind. Last night, he promised himself that he would be careful with her. Her wanting to kiss him, even if it was innocent and her own choice, it was something he shouldn't be partaking in.

He knew this, but it didn't stop him. "If you're going to kiss me," he murmured, "you might as well do it properly."

Lexie grinned and backed away slightly. She looked up at him and her grin faded slightly when she noticed the look he was giving her. She could see the reluctance in his eyes although he was trying to hide it. Didn't he want to kiss her? Lexie tried to smile, "If I kiss you, are you going to freak out?"

Mark frowned. "Why would I do that?"

"I can see it in your eyes," Lexie said and when his frown deepened, she clarified. "I can see the...worry in your eyes. What's wrong?" She laughed slightly, trying to appear as if it didn't matter. "D-Don't you want to kiss me?"

His face visibly softened and Mark moved his hand from her waist to gently touch her cheek. The cheek where…The anger rose in Mark. _Thatcher._ He was the reason why Mark was holding back. There were other reasons; he was her attending, her teacher, a lot older than her. There was Meredith to think of, and Derek, but then there was Thatcher. Mark's jaw clenched. Of course he wanted to kiss Lexie, to do much more with her, but because of what she's been through...He didn't want to hurt her. To scare her. He knew he would do something to mess this up and so instead he was holding back. Instead, he thought if she initiated something between the two, it would matter less. It would show she wasn't afraid; he _wasn't_ going to damage her.

Mark sighed, his fingers stroking Lexie's cheek. "Of course I want to kiss you." She had to realize that this decision wasn't up to him. "I want you, Lexie." He smiled slightly when she averted her eyes from his, a blush tinting her cheeks. He let out a breath and his eyes showed his regret. "But last night..."

Lexie refused to look up, and instead stared at the bed sheet. "You never wanted to kiss me last night, did you? You just...thought i-it was the right thing to do. I-I don't blame you." She laughed slightly, "I did kind of throw myself at you. Twice. You…You were just being polite, I guess. I don't blame you for not wanting to kiss me because let's face it–"

"Lexie," he said sternly. "I wanted to kiss you. I wouldn't have done it otherwise. Yes, I did stop you the second time but that was for your benefit, not because I didn't _want_ to kiss you." He sighed and gently pushed back a strand of hair behind her ear. She really was stunning. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know...I thought you probably just thought it would shut me up."

"You realize you're being stupid, right?"

Lexie looked at him, unsure if she could really trust him. He said he wanted it, and yet was withholding now. Had he changed his mind about her? Now that he knew everything – well, not everything, a voice reminded her – had he changed his mind? "Then, why are you so afraid now? If you really want to kiss me then..."

Mark stopped her when he lowered his lips to hers. It was barely a kiss, light pressure against her parted lips, slowly brushing over hers. Lexie made a small noise; it sounded much like a whimper to him, and clutched her hands to his chest. When he leaned back, he placed another kiss on her lips before speaking. "I'm not afraid."

Lexie blinked, her mind having trouble processing what had just happened. "But then..."

"I wanted it, I liked it. But, after what's happened, what I want isn't important."

Lexie frowned. "But…If it's what _I_ want, then…"

"You don't know what you want."

She raised her eyebrow in surprise. "What's that meant to mean?"

Mark sighed and rolled over, now able to stare at her ceiling. He didn't want to have a confrontation about this now, but it was about time he vocalized the thoughts that had been running through his mind for the most part of the night. "You get drunk, you strip, and I kiss you. Maybe you wanted it, and I wanted it, but you were vulnerable and I shouldn't have done it."

Instinctively, Lexie reached out and touched his hand. "If you're feeling guilty, you shouldn't. I wanted it just as much as you. It's what I needed."

Mark shook his head. "You don't know what you need, Lexie. You cry, you throw yourself at me, you tell me things that I'm assuming you've never told anyone before. You don't know what you want. You can't expect to know what to do. You're confused."

Suddenly, Lexie took her hand away from his and rolled over so that she was now facing the ceiling as well. Her voice was steady and cold when she spoke. "Thanks for telling me how I'm feeling, Dr. Sloan."

Mark sighed; this wasn't going the way he wanted. "I'm not trying to tell you how to feel. I'm just telling you how it's coming across to me. It seems as if you're all over the place."

Lexie's jaw clenched and she felt a wave of tears appear in her eyes. She forced herself to blink them away. He had no right to tell her what she felt, or how she was acting. If she was honest with herself, she didn't know what she was doing either. The way he retold the events to her, she had to admit that it did sound as if she was confused. And now that Lexie considered it, she was confused. She didn't know what they were doing. They had kissed. Twice, now. They had spent the night together. In the same bed. Of course, they hadn't done anything but it must hold some significance, especially for Mark, Seattle Grace's resident man-whore.

The thought made Lexie smile. She was different. Compared to all the other women he had been with, she was the one he didn't sleep with. It wasn't because she was ugly – no, they had eliminated that idea already – it must be because he truly cared. He cared. Otherwise he would have been gone before she woke up.

It was simple in her mind now. Mark Sloan _cared_.

Lexie was about to speak, and vocalize her realization, when Mark continued, his voice low, careful. "You've been denying something's wrong and then all of a sudden you tell me. Why?"

Lexie opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. She didn't know. Why had she told him? Was it because she had been emotional after a tiring day? Was it because the weight of what was happening had snapped her, forcing her to tell someone? Was it because she trusted him?

"I trust you."

Her voice had been a whisper and Mark slowly turned his head to look at her. She was staring at the ceiling, her arms against her side. He saw her swallow before she continued. "I didn't before. But, in the bar…I saw you trying to help. You came after me and it just showed me that you cared. Before then, I didn't want to admit it to myself. But last night…"

Mark nodded; last night marked a change between them. Their relationship had been slowly changing before then, but last night marked the point of no turning back. He knew now. There was no going back. "I should go."

The abrupt change in conversation was something she was used to now, though Lexie still felt the urge to tell him to stay. Although they both had to get ready for their next shift, and Mark had to go back to the Archfield, Lexie wanted to reach out and stop him. When he left, she would be alone again. She hated being alone.

Lexie sighed slightly. "Do you need a lift to the Archfield?"

Mark glanced at her, and saw the disappointment in her features. He tried not to smile. "If you don't mind."

Lexie's eyes widened slightly, she hadn't thought he would take her up on the offer. Slowly, she turned to face him, noticing the smirk on his face. "I…I'll just get changed."

Quickly, Lexie got out of the bed and looked around. Clothes. Bag. She would drop him and then go to the hospital. What was the time? Lexie looked at the alarm clock on the desk and noticed that she had two more hours until her shift started. She would drop him at the Archfield and then would go the hospital. She would not do anything else with him.

Mark watched, amused, as she hurried over to her closet to look for clothes. Her actions always seemed rushed, her words fast as she fumbled over them. Mark smiled; it was one of the many reasons why she was so different. He watched as she grabbed some clothes in her hands and then turned to look at him. She opened her mouth and then shut it again, faltering slightly. Then, as if a sudden determination washed over her, she spoke calmly. "You can't stay there."

"Can't I?" Mark asked, before settling in the bed, his hands now behind his head.

It was always fun teasing her.

Lexie huffed. "Dr. Sloan…"

"You'd think we were on first name basis now, wouldn't you?"

"Mark…" Lexie said sweetly, attempting, desperately, to keep the smile off her face. "Get out of my room. I need to get changed."

Mark shook his head. "I have a good view from here. Why would I move?"

Lexie narrowed her eyes at him. "You're…You're a pig, you know that?"

Mark pretended to gasp, and spoke mockingly. "You can't say that. I'm your attending!"

If it was possible, it appeared as if Lexie's eyes narrowed further. She was trying her hardest to keep the smile off her face. "You're not being funny, or cute, you're being an idiot." In a huff, she turned around and shut the door to her closet. "I'm going to change in the bathroom!"

With a defiant turn on her heel, Lexie stalked to her bedroom door, only to trip over her own feet. She groaned into the heap of clothes but began to laugh lightly when she heard Mark's chuckling from behind her. Slowly, she stood up, clothes in hand, and turned to face a laughing Mark.

"I thought you were going to the bathroom?" Mark said innocently.

Lexie laughed gently, "I'm going now." She smiled at him, enjoying the sight of his grin. He should smile more often. Maybe she should make a fool of herself more often, to get him to do so. "I'm going to get ready. Maybe you should do the same."

Mark nodded, his grin transforming into a small smile. "Alright."

Their eyes met for a beat, entranced by the pure warmth that radiated between the two. It was moments like this that gave Lexie strength, moments when everything seemed normal, simple. It was just her, plain Lexie Grey, and plain Mark Sloan. There was nothing holding them back, nothing to hide, nothing…just them.

Lexie smiled at him, she could do this. She would drive him to the Archfield and forget about what would happen later. Later, as she knew all too well, would bring about change. At work, they would change, she knew that. So now, she would live. Living in the moment was all that she could do now.

Turning on her heel, and taking great care in her footing, Lexie opened her door and left, leaving Mark to stare at her as she walked down the hallway. He smiled softly; she would never cease to amuse him. Sighing, Mark got out of her bed and walked to the door. Before opening it, he turned back and glanced around; taking a moment to register what had gone on in this room. A jab of hurt in the heart and then he turned around, reminding himself to focus on the new day. A new day with Lexie.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Lexie asked quietly when she walked into the living room. She saw him standing by the couch, his stance solid. She smiled slightly, and then raised the blanket that was dangling in her hand. "I'll just put this away and then we can go."

Mark nodded and watched as she began to fold the blanket. The blanket that had covered her, _them_, last night. Mark found himself staring intently at the grey blanket, the woolen material that would always hold significance to last night.

"Is everything okay?"

Lexie's soft voice made him raise his eyes as well as one eyebrow. When he didn't respond, Lexie continued, slightly nervous. "You…The look, the look on your face is telling me something's wrong. Is something wrong? Or am I…Just paranoid?"

Mark shook his head. "Nothing's wrong."

Lexie frowned slightly, her motions halting. "Something seems–"

"Grey," Mark said irritably. "Keep folding your blanket."

She was about to respond but then grudgingly did as he said. _Grey_. The word repeated in her mind, rolling over and over, and all of a sudden Lexie couldn't control her actions. "So, I'm just Grey again, am I?"

Mark sighed, "You'll always be Grey. That _is_ your name, you know."

Lexie shook her head, desolation washing over her. It had started already and they hadn't even left her home. He was now Dr. Sloan and she was once again an insignificant intern.

"What happens when we're at the hospital?"

The question leaped from her before she had a chance to hold onto it.

Mark turned around and looked at her, his face not giving away any emotion. "I'm your attending."

Lexie looked at him and when she realized that he was serious, she looked away embarrassed. "Oh…Okay."

Mark watched as she busied herself with folding the blanket and then running her hands across the invisible creases. He wanted to tell her that he wouldn't change, that even at the hospital he would care about her, and want to look after her, but he couldn't. There were strict rules, maybe not to the hospital directly, but certainly to him. Stay away from interns. Even now, Mark wasn't going to change the rules he lived by. No matter how desperately he wanted to.

He wondered if this was the right thing. Was this what she needed? Space? If his mind had been working like it should, Mark would have realized the upset that was radiating off Lexie. He would have picked up on the difficulty she was facing being alone without his support. Quietly, Mark went over to stand in front of her. She didn't look up.

"I'm your attending. I'm never going to stop being your attending." Mark sighed, finding it difficult not to reach out and touch her shoulder. "At the hospital I'm there to teach you. At the hospital, we're professional."

Lexie stopped folding the blanket as it was too small to be folded again. She rested her hands against the soft material and stroked it gently. Professional…She could do that. But then, she couldn't help but feel betrayed. Before he knew, before she had opened her big mouth, they had never been professional, not completely. There had been jokes, teasing, but as Lexie stood in front of him, she could see all that she had with him slip away.

"We're professional," she said, her voice low. "Got it."

Swiftly, she moved past him to place the neatly folded blanket onto the couch. As she stared at the couch, images flashed in her mind. Him sitting on the couch. Her between his legs, her fingers on his thigh. His eyes when he saw her body. The look of sadness, anger, disappointment. Lexie tried not to think about last night, she didn't need the images flashing like bright lights in front of her, not when she needed to focus on getting through another day.

She turned to face Mark and sighed. It upset her that things could never stay the same, but then, she thought dully, she should have known. Nothing ever stayed the same for her. Nothing ever went the way she wanted it to, the way she needed it to. Once again, Lexie would have to cope.

Her smile barely reached her eyes, but Lexie attempted to sound cheerful. "Come on, Dr. Sloan; let's get you back to the Archfield."

Mark sighed as she moved past him to the door. He followed her out and watched as she picked up her keys from the small table by the door. She turned to look at him, her eyes trying to convince him that everything was fine – that they were _fine_.

He wasn't convinced. Neither of them was.


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the response, I'm thrilled that people enjoyed the last chapter and this story as a whole. It really makes my day. I'm sorry this is a bit short, and so was the conversation with Mark and Lexie but hang in there! Let me know what you think (:

* * *

They hadn't spoken to each other during the drive to the Archfield. The silence had been filled by the soft talking radio host and the mellow beats of songs neither of them knew. It wasn't clear to either of them why they hadn't spoken, but it had been an assumed agreement. Now, in the parking lot of the Archfield, Lexie turned off the engine and stared at the entrance of the building.

Silence surrounding them, encasing and trapping, and Lexie nervously fiddled with the steering wheel. Should she say goodbye? Should she offer him a ride to the hospital? No, that would be too obvious. They weren't meant to be seen together at the hospital, not unless it was under an intern-attending basis. Lexie sighed, when she woke up she knew what was going on – Mark Sloan cared about her. Now, all her certainty had blown up in her face.

Before she could speak, it was Mark's low voice that cut into the silence.

"Thanks."

One word, one syllable, but the weight behind it made Lexie's heart twist. The sincerity underneath the rough voice was clear to Lexie and it made her want to reach over and hold his hand. "You're welcome," she whispered, her eyes focused on the double glass doors in the distance. She refused to look at him; it would just make him leaving harder. "I'll see you at work."

Mark turned to look at her and although he felt the regret surge through his veins, he showed no emotion when he spoke next. "Yeah. I'll see you then."

The sound of his sigh and the slamming of the door brought tears to Lexie's eyes. Slowly releasing the breath she had been holding, Lexie attempted to calm herself. Her eyes closed and the darkness it brought was welcomed. Her mind racing, the thoughts attacking her, Lexie didn't understand what to do. First he had showed signs, clear signs, that he wanted her, he _liked_ her. It was more than just a platonic relationship; she _knew_ that. She could feel it every time he looked at her, his blue eyes burning her soul. But then he had chosen to revert back to a strictly professional manner. He was going to ignore her, brush her to the side, as if she was any other woman at the hospital.

Lexie sniffed and opened her eyes, her vision slowly adjusting. He wasn't worth her tears. If he wanted to remain professional then that was exactly what she would do. Turning the key in the ignition, Lexie swiped at her eyes and began to reverse out of the parking spot. She would go to the hospital and do as Dr. Sloan wished.

* * *

Walking down the hall, Lexie frowned when she saw Sadie leaving the intern locker room. Their shift was about to start in twenty minutes and Sadie wasn't dressed in her scrubs like Lexie was. Plus, she was holding a large brown box in her arms.

"Sadie," Lexie called, causing the blond to turn around.

Sadie smiled slightly at Lexie and stopped, waiting for her to catch up. When in front of her, Lexie noted the haggard look on Sadie's face. "What's up?" She asked quietly.

Sadie attempted a small smile and gave a half-shrug. "I'm moving on."

"Moving on?" Lexie's raised an eyebrow and felt a sudden panic hit her. "W-What do you mean? W-why, why would you want to leave the program? Is something wrong? Did something happen because if it did I'm sure the Chief will–"

"Lex," Sadie said softly, cutting off her friend's nervous rant. "I'm not cut out for this. I quit."

Lexie's eyes widened and she opened her mouth a few times, trying to formulate the words, but nothing came out. Frowning, the feeling of panic was now flowing through her and Lexie felt the worry well up inside her. Sadie was her friend, her _only_ good friend, without her…

"You can't. You can't quit…" Her voice trailed off before she spoke again, her voice more determined. "I'll help you. If you're falling b-behind, I'll help you. I don't think we can start the crazy basement group again, because they would kill us all for certain, but…but if you–"

Sadie sighed and dropped the box to the floor. When she straightened and saw the upset in Lexie's eyes she felt tears prick her eyes. "I'm not meant to be here. The Chief…He's given me enough chances." She tried to smile and reached out to lightly nudge Lexie in the arm. "You'll be fine around here without me. You're good, Lexie. You'll do fine."

"I-I can't."

"Lexie…" Sadie sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "I'm glad I came here. I'm glad I met you. But, this place…I'd rather leave now than be accused of cheating. I might not be cut out for this, but I can do other things. I'll be fine."

Was she trying to convince Lexie, or herself?

Sadie shook her head and sighed. She looked around the hallway one more time, the feeling of emptiness settling in her stomach. She would miss this place. Although she had bluffed her way through the program and although she knew she was a danger to everyone, it didn't stop the sadness. It didn't stop the fact she would miss the people.

She looked back at Lexie and felt sorry for her. It was true, without her, Lexie really didn't have anyone. Once, Sadie had privately spoken to Meredith, asking her if she could include Lexie into more of her out of work time. It hadn't been successful.

"Wh-Where will you go?"

Lexie's soft voice broke Sadie out of her thoughts. She shrugged and bent down to pick up her box. "I haven't thought ahead that far. Maybe New York…Milan…Berlin…London." She smiled at Lexie and suddenly dropped the box, the loud thud making Lexie jump slightly. Before she knew what was happening, Sadie had grabbed her and embraced her. Squeezing Lexie close to her, Sadie closed her eyes and took deep breaths. "I'm gonna miss you, Lexie."

Slowly, Lexie wrapped her arms around Sadie and hugged her back. She didn't think Sadie would ever understand how much she would miss her. "I'm gonna miss you, too."

They stayed like that, hugging in the middle of the hallway, before Sadie slowly let go. She smoothed down her clothes and grinned at Lexie's embarrassed smile. Picking up her box again, Sadie shoved it under her arm. "If you need anything, Lexie, you call me. Even if it just to bitch about Cristina."

Lexie smiled, "I will."

Sadie laughed, "You know. That's one thing I'm not gonna miss. Sucking up to that _cow_."

Lexie groaned slightly. "Please, don't remind me. I have rounds with her soon."

"Ah, rounds," Sadie said thoughtfully. She paused and then shook her head. "Nope. Not gonna miss that, either."

Lexie smiled and glanced at her watch. "I really should go."

"Me too."

The pair stared at each other for a moment, not willing to walk past each other, before Sadie let out a dramatic sigh. "Why are we making this so hard? I'll call you, you'll call me. I want to know everything that happens." Sadie smirked slightly, "Especially when it comes to you and a certain doctor."

Lexie's eyes widened. "Wh-What?"

"Oh come on, Lex!" She leaned in slightly and whispered, "_Sloan_."

Immediately a blush hit Lexie's cheeks and she nervously looked to the side. She hadn't had a chance to tell Sadie, but she had planned to explain everything to her today. Well, not everything. Lexie frowned slightly. Maybe, if she was honest with herself, she would have ended up telling Sadie about…about Thatcher too. She was a good friend, she trusted her, and now that Mark wouldn't talk to her in the hospital, if she needed to talk, she could have talked to Sadie. Why hadn't she told her sooner?

Noticing the distraught look on her friend's face, Sadie lightly reached out and brushed Lexie's arm. "Hey, what's wrong? Is it Sloan?" She let out a little gasp, her voice getting more urgent – excited. "Did something happen?"

Lexie opened her mouth to speak when she saw Graciella and Ryan rushing down the hallway towards them. "Rounds!" Lexie squeaked and looked at Sadie with an apologetic look. When the other interns scurried past them, Lexie looked at them and then turned to face Sadie. "I really have to go. But, but…I'll call you."

Sadie raised an eyebrow, "Does that mean something happened?" She paused and then nearly screamed, "Did you sleep with him?"

"Sadie! No!" Lexie sighed and took a step back, glancing down the hallway. "I'll explain later. L-Like you said, you'll call me, and I'll call you. No…No-one gets rid of me that easily."

Sadie grinned at Lexie and nodded. "I'll talk to you later, Grey."

Lexie nodded and began to walk backwards. "Okay…Later. Sure."

Sadie laughed loudly and shook her head. She waved her hand dismissively. "Go. Before you're late. Run!"

Lexie grinned and turned swiftly on her heel, and ran in the direction of the other interns, praying that she wouldn't be late.

* * *

She was. By 40 seconds, if her calculations were correct. Lexie cursed under her breath as she carefully snuck into the group, hiding behind Ryan. Silently, she prayed she could go unnoticed.

She wasn't that lucky.

"Three," Cristina barked, her eyes narrowed. "You're late."

"Err…" Lexie stared at the back of Ryan's head. "Er, I-I'm sorry, Dr. Yang."

Cristina raised an eyebrow and then shook her head. "Whatever. Just…Just go to Plastics."

"What?" Lexie asked, her voice louder than usual.

Cristina scoffed. "Go."

"But rounds haven't even finished."

"They didn't even start for you," Cristina said before rolling her eyes. She turned and headed towards the next patient's room, muttering under her breath. "Incompetent, pathetic…"

Lexie's shoulders slumped and she was left standing alone when all the interns hurried off behind Cristina, not looking back at her. She shook her head; this was the last thing she needed. How was she going to remain professional with Mark? She knew she would have to, and she knew she told herself that she would, but as Lexie made her way to find him, she was beginning to doubt herself.

She couldn't do this. She couldn't just ignore everything.

She couldn't keep secrets. She was bad at keeping secrets.

_You've kept a lot up until now._

Lexie glared into the distance at the sound of a voice in her head. She didn't want to be reminded of that fact but her conscience wouldn't let it go. She's been able to keep a lot to herself, so why couldn't she do this for Mark? Lexie tried to convince herself that outside of work, outside of these four walls, he would be accepting. He would talk to her, stay with her, help her. He wouldn't ignore her.

Even though she kept repeating this to herself, Lexie felt the doubt surround her. She couldn't ignore him now. If they ignored what they had now, what if he did the same outside of work?

What if this was his way of brushing her off?

What if he didn't care? What if it was all an act?

Too busy with her thoughts, Lexie pressed the button for the elevator and when she heard the doors slide open, she walked in, her mind still racing. It wasn't until someone cleared their throat that she looked up.

Her thoughts stopped. Butterflies were released.

Mark stared back at her.

_Oh shit._


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the responses! Here it is, and this took on a mind of its own! I don't know why, but Mark didn't get much of a say in this, or at least that's how I feel. Let me know what you think, please! (:

* * *

Mark noticed the panicked expression on Lexie's face and watched as she quickly turned to face the steel doors in front of them. She hadn't realized it was him standing in the elevator, and as a result, they were standing quite close together. If he stretched out his hand, he'd be able to touch hers. He could hold her hand in his and comfort her. He could…Mark stopped himself. What he wanted to do classified as inappropriate behavior in a professional environment.

Mark felt his stomach drop at the thought.

He wanted to touch her, to reach out and reassure her when it was obvious something was going on in her mind. But he couldn't. He couldn't mix his work with his personal life. He couldn't get involved with her problems at work because if he did, it would consume him. He knew it would be all he thought about and when at work, when he was doing what he loved, he had to remain focused. He owed it to the people that came to him in hope.

He couldn't think about Lexie at work, he had to think about Dr. Grey instead.

Mark glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, wondering what she was thinking about. Was her heart racing like his? Was she feeling nervous? Was she okay? Mark was contemplating asking her how she was, when Lexie's soft voice floated to him.

"I was on my way to find you, Dr. Sloan." Her voice was quite, but held a definite strength to it. "Dr. Yang put me on your services today."

Mark nodded his head, silently doing something he never thought he would – thanking Cristina for helping him for once. "Alright," he said, his voice just as low as hers. "I haven't got anything yet."

Lexie nodded, her nerves heightening. Without a case, it would leave them with nothing to do. Nothing to do…but talk. Lexie stopped herself. No. He didn't want to talk when at work; she would need to constantly remind herself of that. Licking her lips nervously, Lexie continued with their conversation. "Okay…Is there anything else I can do for you?"

_Tell me what you're thinking. Tell me that you're okay._ "Yes."

Lexie let out a steady breath and turned to look up at him. "Yes?"

Mark looked down at her, his eyes softening at the sight of her. Her big eyes were looking up at him expectantly, and yet he could see the worry behind those beautiful eyes. It was taking him all of his strength to not pull her body to his. "You could tell me what's going on."

Lexie blinked at him and hurriedly turned away. She glanced at the illuminated numbers and held her breath. "Nothing's going on, Dr. Sloan."

"I don't believe you."

Lexie shrugged. "That's up to you. I…I don't need to convince you. You can believe what you want."

Mark shook his head and before he knew what he was doing; his hand flew out and slapped the red button. The elevator came to a thudding stop and Lexie gasped slightly. Her eyes flew to his and he looked at her, his arms folded against his chest. "Tell me what's happened."

Lexie opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't speak. She snapped shut her mouth and glared at the steel doors. A sudden burst of anger flared up inside of her, how dare he stop the elevator and force her to speak. If she wanted to tell him what was going on, if she wanted to tell him her feelings, she wouldn't do it now. She was only following the rules _he_ had set up. He had no right to try and get her to talk now.

Her voice was steady and harsh when she spoke next. "I'm not telling you anything." She turned to look at him, her eyes sparkling with anger, and she added, "_Dr. Sloan_."

Mark stared at her, the realization hitting him. So this was why she was acting so strange with him. Professionalism. He should have known she would react in this way. "Lexie," he said, his voice low. He took a step towards her and sighed when she took a step back. "Lexie, please."

"Stay away from me." Her voice was strong and she continued to walk backwards until her back hit the wall. "Stay the _Hell_ away from me."

Mark continued to move and now he stood in front of her, so close that if he moved slightly, their bodies would collide. "Lexie," he whispered. "Come on."

It was hard for Lexie to regulate her breathing with him so near to her but she managed to keep calm. Almost. "Dr. Sloan…if…if you do not move away from me…I'll…I'll–"

"You'll what?" Mark asked, his hand moving to gently touch hers. His finger brushed against her hand and he noted her sharp intake of breath. He leaned in slightly, his breath whispering against her skin. "You'll what?"

She wanted to come up with a smart response, something that would show him that she was annoyed with him, that she was only doing what _he_ wanted and that it was his all _his_ fault. That was what Lexie wanted to say. However her brain couldn't form those words due to the fact his proximity was encasing her, robbing her of all her senses. Instead of shouting at him – instead of pushing him back – Lexie whispered, "I don't know…"

Mark sighed, his hands moving up her arms slowly. At the back of his mind, a voice was telling him that he shouldn't be doing this. He shouldn't be touching her, not after last night, not after he told her that what he wanted wasn't important. He had to ignore his feelings, the desires that flared up inside him – raw and passionate – every time he saw her. This wasn't what she needed. She needed a friend, someone that cared, not someone that was ruled by their _other_ brain.

Mark knew this, he knew what he should be doing, but instead he was adamant on continuing with what he wanted – _needed_ – to do.

They both wanted this, ever since last night. How could he deny it? How could he stop the instinct that shot through him at the sight of her?

At the sound of Lexie's small sigh, Mark leaned closer, his face inches away from hers. Her eyes were lowered and he carefully placed a kiss on her cheek. When she didn't raise her eyes, he kissed her again, slowly dragging his lips over her cheek, dangerously close to her parted lips. "Look at me," he whispered, his voice rough, raw, heavenly. "_Lexie_…"

"Dr. Sloan…"

The strength that her voice once held was lost under the spell of his being. No matter how hard she tried, Lexie couldn't resist his advances. Looking up at him, her heart clenched at the sight of his steel blue eyes. They shouldn't be doing this. They shouldn't be doing this. They _shouldn't_–

His mouth crashed into hers and Lexie found herself intake sharply at the feel of his lips gliding across hers. Her mouth open, his tongue tracing along her lips, Lexie felt the fire of him burn her. It felt good.

His hands went to either side of her face, gently holding onto her smooth skin, and Mark found himself move closer to her. His hips pressing against hers. This was what he wanted, this is what they _needed_. It didn't matter who they were, where they were, or what was going on in their lives. Them, alone, together in the way that was right – that was all that mattered.

Breaking apart, Mark swallowed when he felt Lexie's hands, which had been gripping onto his shoulders; move down his chest, snaking around his waist under his white coat. His white coat. The realization that they were standing, pressed up against an elevator wall, in Seattle Grace dawned on Mark. It should have made him pull away from her and restart the elevator, but it didn't. It didn't seem to have an effect on him. Instead, Mark traced his finger across her lips, staring into her eyes, watching for a change that would indicate she didn't want this.

Lexie stared at him, her mind racing, trying to figure out what was happening. He hadn't wanted this. He told her that what he wanted didn't matter. He told her that at the hospital, she was just an intern and he was her attending. They shouldn't be doing this. He shouldn't be allowed to say something and then do something else. It wasn't right, it wasn't _fair_. Did he not care about her feelings? Did he not realize that by doing this, he was just screwing with her mind?

Suddenly, Lexie tore her hands away from him and shoved him away. Caught off guard, Mark stumbled back slightly and frowned at her. "What the–"

"No. No." Lexie said, as she pointed a finger at him. "You…You don't get to talk. Not, not after that."

"What are–?"

"Don't!"

Her shout echoed in the small space and her chest heaved as she gave up hope of keeping composed. He didn't deserve her understanding; he didn't _deserve_ a calm Lexie Grey. Lexie shook her head at the confused expression on Mark's face. How could he be so oblivious as to why she was angry?

She shook her head, suddenly disgusted that she let herself fall. Disgusted that she allowed herself to be taken over by this man. Her eyes burned into his and Lexie tried to keep the sadness from creeping into her voice. She refused to sound weak.

"Why are doing this to me? Why…Why do you think you're allowed to push me away one moment and then…and then kiss me the next?" Lexie shook her head, the rage bubbling under her skin. "You can't do that! You're not allowed to do this to me!"

Mark opened his mouth the reply, but was cut off by Lexie's raised voice. "You said you would ignore your feelings! You said that I was just an intern!" Her chest heaved as she took a step forward, her hands clenched at her side. "If I was just an intern why are you doing this to me?"

She was closer to him now, in the position to reach out and touch him – _punch him_ – if necessary. Her sudden shout vibrated in the small space, "What have I done to deserve this? What have I done to _you_?"

Her body was shaking slightly and Mark instinctively reached out to settle her. His hands flew to her arms and immediately he found himself fighting to keep his grip, Lexie trying to slip through his hold. "Lexie," he said soothingly. "Lexie, stop it."

"No!" Lexie shouted, and shoved him back. She pointed her finger at him, and he thought dryly that it would have been more effective if her hand wasn't shaking so much.

"You…_You_ stop it! Stop saying one thing and doing another. Stop acting as if you care about me because you don't!" Tears threatened the corners of Lexie's eyes and she felt herself well up at the thought of him not caring, of him simply using her.

Shaking her head, Lexie ran a hand through her hair. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment, trying to regain composure, before turning to look at him. His face showed little emotion, however his eyes, his pale blue eyes which had always amazed her, spoke louder than words ever could. The hurt, the pain, the worry – it all showed.

It wasn't enough. It wouldn't repair the damage he had caused to her heart, to her mind. She wouldn't allow him to sweep this away like he had done to everything else.

In a shout that Lexie never knew she was capable of, her words came out stony and clear. "If you _cared_ about me, Dr. _Sloan_, you wouldn't treat me this way! You wouldn't do this! You wouldn't hurt me!"

Hurt her? That was the last thing he wanted to do. Trying not to rush forward and hold her, Mark's words came out fast and desperate, his composure lost. "I never meant to hurt you! Damn it, Lexie, I don't know what I'm doing!"

"If you don't know, then why are you still doing it? Why are you still doing this to me?"

Mark sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I don't know." He shook his head, trying to move through all the thoughts rushing through his mind. "I do care about you. I want to help you. I want you. And I don't want to hide my feelings." He shook his head, whispering to himself, "That's not who I am."

Lexie shook her head, the emotion tearing through her. "You can't keep doing this to me," she whispered. The tears she had tried so hard to keep under control began to fall, snaking their way down her cheeks. Lexie stared at the ceiling and wished that she hadn't taken the elevator. The stairs. She should have taken the stairs; she was a doctor, she should have known the exercise would have benefitted her more than an elevator ride.

Lexie didn't know what to do. All the emotion, from their situation and her upset over Sadie, had built up and now she had released everything. All the hurt and worry and insecurities that had been holding her back, that had been held back by the rational part of her brain, it was all being lashed out against Mark. And one part of Lexie was glad. He deserved this. He _deserved_ this after what he's put her through.

Fighting back the tears, Lexie refused to look at him, instead began to count the ceiling tiles. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Her voice was like a forbidden plea to his ears. He didn't have an answer. "I don't know."

His stoic voice ripped through Lexie's heart and she felt the pain surge through her veins. "Why can't you just stop? Why can't you just stay my attending?"

His answer was instant, the answer obvious. "Because I care too much."

Lexie let out a small, feeble laugh. "Stop saying that."

Mark watched as a tear slipped down her pale cheek, curving downwards, falling onto her long neck. It was taking all his will power to not go over and wipe away the tear, the hurt, every little pain she felt. "I can't deny the truth. I won't."

"You don't mean it."

"I do."

"You don't."

"I do."

Lexie slowly lowered her head to look at him, and she felt her heart skip a beat at the sincere look on his face. How could she believe him when he had gone back on everything he said so far? He was just like her father. He says one thing, and does another. He promises one thing, and goes it against it as soon as he gets the chance.

The anger quickly flashed behind Lexie's eyes and she shook her head in disgust. "Why can't you stop? Stop saying you care about me, because you don't. You say one thing and do another. Do you think that's fair? Do you just see me as some…some _play thing_?"

The hurt showed immediately on Mark's face and he replied defensively, "Of course not!"

"Then what am I?" Lexie shouted. "What am I to you? Am I just an intern? Am I just Meredith's little sister? The one no one cares about? The insignificant _Little Grey_?"

Unable to keep still, Lexie stormed in front of him, the rage displayed demanding answers. "Or am I just the pathetic abused girl that you can use to feel important? Does it make you feel needed to think I'm so weak that I can't defend myself? Am I just the girl you think can feed your hero complex? Huh? Tell me! _Tell me!_"

"No!" Mark shouted. "No. You aren't that. I don't see you like that!"

He ran his hand through his hair and turned away from her. Where was this coming from? This sudden outburst of anger and disgust. This wasn't Lexie, Lexie wouldn't behave like this. Mark shook his head, trying to remain the calm one in the situation but found himself loosing grip on the reality. He couldn't do this; he couldn't stand here and take her hits. How could she think he was using her? He wasn't, her genuinely cared about her. He had feelings, real, solid feelings that tore through him whenever he saw her.

She wasn't just an intern. She wasn't just Little Grey.

She definitely wasn't just a victim.

She was beautiful. She was kind-hearted and neurotic. She was a good doctor, and would make an even better surgeon. She was confident and shy at the same time. She was everything that he wasn't.

Why couldn't she believe in him? In herself? Why couldn't she understand that he was confused too? He didn't know what to do, but the one thing he did know was that he liked her more than a teacher should for their intern. Why couldn't she trust him?

Heaving slightly, Mark felt the anger rise inside of him. He didn't know whether he was angry with her or this situation. All he did know was that it wasn't a wise decision on Lexie's part when she decided to round him and stand in front of him.

Now trapped between him and the wall, Lexie stared at him and noticed the annoyance in his cold blue eyes. She wouldn't stop. They were trapped in here, they would be trapped together for the rest of today, and she didn't give up. She never gave up. Her voice was low, laced with silent resentment, when she spoke next. "Tell me, Dr. Sloan, what am I to you? Who am I?"

He looked down at her, and he gritted his teeth. "Lexie. Lexie Grey."

"I know that!" Lexie exploded. "Who am I to you? Tell me!"

Matching her tone of voice, Mark replied with the same fury. "What do you want me to say, Lexie? Do you want me to tell you that yes, you are an intern. Yes, you are Meredith's sister. Yes, you are Little fucking Grey."

He leaned in, one arm pressed against the wall behind her. "What do you want me to tell you? Because you _are_ an intern, you _are_ Meredith's sister and you _are_ Little Grey and you _are_ an abused woman! What else should I tell you? What do you want to hear, Lexie?"

"I don't know!" Lexie shouted, her eyes burning with tears. Everything was happening too fast for her, the emotions slamming into her, her common sense lost. Her sobs broke out a moment later, unable to contain themselves, and her shoulders slumped against the wall. "Tell me you want me! I don't know! Tell me I'm not just the pathetic woman that I feel like! Just tell me you want me!"

His arm dropped to her shoulder and Mark slowly wrapped his arms around her small frame. Pulling her against his chest, Mark sighed when he felt her clutch onto him. "I want you. I want you and that will never change. I won't let it. I want _you_." Soothingly, Mark stroked her hair with his free hand, reassuringly pressing light kisses on her head.

Slowly taking his arm from her waist, Mark pressed the red button on the wall behind them. As the elevator jolted into motion, Mark whispered against her hair, "I care about you more than I should."


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the response, I really appreciate it. Sorry for yet another delayed update, but I've been a bit stressed lately. Hopefully, things will be getting better soon (: Hope you guys enjoy this, I'm really excited about the chapters to come. Let me know what you think! (:

* * *

Lexie gently traced her finger along Mark's chest as she felt the elevator move upwards. She would have to move soon, leave the encasing warmth of his safety, and the thought made Lexie's shoulders slump. She didn't want to move, not when she was so emotionally drained. Mark's soft voice tugged her into focus. "We can't stay like this."

The weight behind his words sent a sharp dagger through Lexie's heart but she let out a steady breath. He was right. She knew that. But that didn't stop the disappointment she felt.

Slowly, Lexie raised her head and smiled shyly when he stared down at her, his eyes intense. "Okay," she whispered as she slowly entangled herself from his body.

Tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear, Lexie turned to face the steel doors, a small smile on her lips. _I care about you more than I should. I care about you. I care._ As the door pinged and slid open, Lexie glanced back at Mark, who was watching her intently, and then turned and left the elevator. Soon enough, he fell into step with her and Lexie couldn't help but say, her grin barely contained, "You care about me, Dr. Sloan."

"Don't let it get to your head," he replied, his voice holding an air of nonchalance.

Lexie smirked slightly as they went up to the nurses' station. Resting her arm against the desk, Lexie watched him flip through a chart that didn't belong to him. She tried to figure out what was going on his mind, but if she was honest with herself, she couldn't figure him out. "Are you regretting it?"

It was a simple question, a question which had been spoken in a calm and careful voice, however to Mark it felt like an accusation. "What is that meant to mean?" He asked, his voice low, his eyes darting to the sides to see if anyone could overhear them.

Lexie rolled her eyes at his actions, and leaned in slightly, so that they wouldn't be overheard. It was an added bonus that it allowed her to be so close to him. "Everything. This," she whispered discreetly, waving a hand in between their bodies. "Do you regret it?"

"Of course not." He didn't understand why she would assume that. "I told you. You heard what I said. I don't lie and I don't have regrets."

His voice was stern and for some reason, it caused Lexie to raise an eyebrow. "Really?"

He blinked and a long list of regrets ran through his mind. However, he knew it was irrelevant. Lexie didn't need to know about all the reasons why she shouldn't let him near her. "Really," he replied, his voice certain although his heart wasn't.

Lexie looked at him for a moment, trying to calculate what to do next, when Mark's pager beeped. She watched as he looked down and sighed. "Trauma?"

"Yeah," Mark replied before glancing around the ward. Before anyone noticed, Mark quickly took Lexie's hand in his and pulled her towards the elevators. As she stumbled behind him, Mark spoke in a hurried voice, "Hurry up, Grey."

Lexie nearly laughed at Mark's nervous exterior. She hurried alongside him until they reached the elevator where he dropped her hand, settling for lightly brushing his hand against hers. Lexie smiled and looked up at him, her voice adopting a mock whisper, "Was that you being affectionate, Dr. Sloan?"

Mark didn't bother looking at her and instead replied, "Get that grin off your face." Then, as an afterthought he said, "I don't like the word affectionate."

This time Lexie openly laughed at him. "What should I use instead? Warm, kind, _loving_?"

Mark glared at the steel doors and as if sensing his urgency, the elevator doors slid open. "Shut up and get in."

Lexie laughed and followed him into the elevator, enjoying the fact that for once, it was her doing the teasing. "Don't tell me you can't take being teased, Dr. Sloan," Lexie said, her grin barely contained.

Although he was glad Lexie was happier than she had been lately, Mark didn't appreciate being the butt of her jokes. However, a voice reasoned with him, it was him that was making her happy. It was her teasing _him_ that was bringing a smile to her face. Mark considered the thought for a moment, and then when he heard Lexie sigh happily, he realized that maybe it was alright being the butt of jokes.

For her, it was more than alright.

* * *

"Hunt," Mark hollered as he entered the ER.

Owen looked up from his chart and nodded towards the end cubicle. "Patient's in there," he said in his gruff voice. He then noticed Lexie standing timidly behind Mark. He smiled at her, "Dr. Grey."

"Dr. Hunt," Lexie replied quietly.

Owen watched as Mark turned to her and quietly told her to get the patient's chart. The action was calm and gentle, causing suspicion to shoot through Owen. He regarded Mark for a moment, and when Lexie was out of an earshot, he spoke curiously. "How's Dr. Grey doing?"

"She's fine," Mark replied, his eyes narrowing. "Why?"

Owen shrugged, "I'm a considerate guy. I like to know how the interns are doing."

"I'm not falling for that."

Owen laughed. "Paranoid, Sloan?"

"Shut up," Mark growled. He turned and walked towards the cubicle, muttering under his breath, "Meatballer."

Mark was about to open the cubicle curtain when he felt Lexie stand next to him. He looked down and tried not to smile when she smiled at him. "Here you go, Dr. Sloan," she said sweetly, her hand brushing against his when she gave him the chart.

"Thank you, Dr. Grey," he replied and flipped open the chart. His eyes quickly scanned the writing and he nodded slightly, before opening the curtain.

Julia Greene's eyes nervously looked at the two doctors in front of her, immediately noticing the woman's sharp intake of breath. Nervously, she fidgeted with her fingers as the male doctor walked over to her. "I-It's bad, isn't it?" Julia whispered as she watched the younger doctor close the curtains. "Yeah, close the curtains. We…We don't want to scare anyone…"

Mark shook his head, "Miss. Greene, no-one is afraid of your face."

"I wouldn't…I wouldn't blame them." She looked down at her intertwined fingers and mumbled, "The intern was afraid."

Lexie's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, no. No, of…of course not, Miss. Greene." Lexie looked at Mark desperately and he only gave her a stern look in return. "I…I've never seen a, err, facial injury as severe as yours. I'm…I'm sorry."

Julia shrugged and tried to look up at the ceiling but the pain in her eye was restricting her movement. "Please," she whispered. "Just fix my face."

Mark nodded as he took in the sight of her injuries. The right side of her face was red and purple, the bruising and swelling extensive from under her eye to the bottom of her nose. There was no need for a CT scan, it was clear her cheekbone was fractured, the bone indented and pushed to one side. Immediately, Mark noticed she was breathing from her mouth and he narrowed his eyes, noticing her nasal septum wasn't straight.

"Don't worry, Miss. Greene," Mark said. "Now, I need you to tell me how your injuries occurred."

Her eyes widened slightly and she nervously glanced at Lexie. "I-I…fell."

Her voice faltered and instantly, Lexie knew. The fidgeting, the stuttering, the nerves, the seeking out another woman's stare. Her heart broke for the woman in front of her. She didn't fall, Lexie knew that excuse all too well.

Mark glanced at Julia's injuries once more and nodded curtly. It was up to her whether or not she wanted to tell him the truth, he wouldn't pressure her. "Alright. I need to assess if there are any injuries to your nervous system." Without looking at her, Mark asked Lexie, "How would I do that, Dr. Grey?"

"Glasgow coma scale."

"What would it involve?"

"Level of consciousness, pupil reaction to light, reflexes, response to stimuli," Lexie said without fault. She looked at Mark eagerly and when he nodded, she smiled in relief.

"Good, Dr. Grey," Mark said before asking Julia if he could do the tests that Lexie had said. After they were done, Mark straightened and nodded his head slightly. "There seems to be no initial damage to your nerves, and I've looked and there seems to be no cerebrospinal fluid leakages, so we can rule out brain injury."

Julia nodded slowly and spoke slowly, "Okay." She began to scratch her hand nervously and looked at Lexie. "That's good right?"

Lexie briefly looked at Mark before turning back to their patient. "That's definitely good."

"Okay…Okay." She looked at Mark, her eyes pleading with him. "You can fix my face, right?"

"Yes."

Julia tried to smile but looked at Lexie instead. "H-He isn't lying is he?"

The uncertainty of not knowing if people were telling you the truth, if they really care, if they really wanted to help you, look after you – Lexie understood where she was coming from. Her back straightened slightly and she smiled gently, "He wouldn't lie to you." Her eyes met with Mark's, their stare intense and unwavering. "He doesn't lie."

* * *

After Mark had left, Lexie helped Julia into a wheelchair and proceeded to take her up for a CT scan. Although she knew she shouldn't ask, Lexie couldn't help the sudden urge that rushed through her. You didn't get injuries like this from a fall. You didn't become that nervous around people if you were fine, if you were living in a safe environment.

But it was none of her business. She couldn't ask her patient if she was punched, or hit with a baseball bat. It was inappropriate. She could ignore this, why did it matter so much to her? She should understand, she should understand how it feels to be constantly questioned by people.

"Are you alright, Dr. Grey?"

Lexie looked down at Julia and smiled slightly. "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry."

Julia shrugged, "No need to be sorry. You just seemed a bit…out of it." She tried to turn her head to look at Lexie, but didn't get very far. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Lexie laughed slightly and pushed the button for the elevator. "No, thank you." She paused and at first thought against it, but Lexie couldn't resist the need to help someone. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"No."

Her voice was abrupt and strong, and Lexie realized that she must have used that tone of voice a million times before as well. She should have known better. No-one ever wants to talk about it.

"Alright," Lexie said, her voice unnaturally cheerful. As the elevator doors opened, she carefully pushed Julia into the small space. They stood in silence until the doors reopened and Lexie pushed her out again. As they went down the hallway, Lexie was surprised to hear Julia's voice again.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

Lexie quickly weighed up her options: tell her the truth, or act oblivious in the hope she would tell her because she wanted to. "I'm not here to judge, Miss. Greene," Lexie replied. "I'm just…I'm just an intern. I'm not allowed to judge. No judging whatsoever."

They fell into silence again as Lexie opened the door to the CT scanner. With some assistance, Lexie helped Julia onto the long bed and then left the room. While she waited for the scan to be over, Lexie leaned against the wall, contemplating what to do. Julia was here to get her face fixed, not her heart, or mind, or life.

Lexie could only help her face. Nothing else. She had to remember that.

But even though she knew this, Lexie couldn't help the overwhelming sadness that seeped into her veins at the sight of Julia's bruised face. That had been her once. That was still her. Just because she had told someone, didn't mean this wasn't still part of her life. But now Lexie had help. She had Mark, didn't Julia deserve someone too?

Once the scan was over, Lexie helped Julia back into her wheelchair and, with the scans sitting in Julia's lap, made their way back to Mark. Lexie thought about saying something, making idle chat with Julia, but then thought against it. Maybe she should ask Mark what to do. After all, he had been in the same position not long ago.

* * *

Mark watched as Lexie came out of Julia's cubicle and made her way over to him, the scans in her hand. She placed the scans onto the light box and then stood next to him, her arms crossed over her chest. Mark glanced at her from the corner of his eye and tried not to sound too amused. "Something you want to say, Dr. Grey?"

Lexie chewed her bottom lip slightly before letting out a huff. "She didn't fall."

Mark raised an eyebrow as he looked at the scans. "I know that."

"You know that?" Lexie screeched. Looking around her, she quickly lowered her voice. "You _know_ that? How…How do you…" She sighed and shook her head. "_Bastard_."

Mark frowned, "Excuse me?"

"You…Y-You're a bastard, you know that? You know someone did that to her, on purpose, you know someone intentionally hit her, probably used a fucking bat to do that to her face and you…you didn't say anything!" Lexie whispered harshly. "You _knew_ and you just accepted the fact that she 'fell.'"

Mark's sudden laughter caused Lexie to glare at him. "What? Why…_Why_ are you laughing?"

"It's not my job to care whether or not a patient's telling me the truth," Mark said. "If she wants to lie, then that's up to her. You heard her; all she wants me to do is fix her face. Not care."

Lexie was about to respond when Mark interrupted her. "What do you see?"

Lexie clenched her jaw and looked at the scans in front of her. "Fractures to the arch and orbit of the cheekbone," Lexie replied tensely.

"Good, Dr. Grey," Mark said as he snapped the scans off the light box and placed them back into the envelope. "Now," he said mockingly cheerful. "Come along."

Lexie glared at the back of Mark's head as he walked over to Julia's cubicle, and silently she wished he would trip and fall.

_Bastard._


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you for all the responses, alerts and favorites. I'm glad people are still interested in this. This didn't go as I had planned but I never particularly like planning in the first place. I hope it's okay, and as always let me know what you think! (:

* * *

Lexie watched as Mark calmly explained to Julia that surgery was required to fix the damage to her cheekbone. Metal plates would need to be inserted to fix the damaged bones. He then went on to explain how she would need a septoplasty to fix the damage to her sinuses, and nasal septum. Lexie watched as Julia's eyes filled with tears and her nails scratched along her hand harder.

"S-So, you _can_ fix it, right?" Julia whispered, her breathing unsteady.

"You'll need a lot of surgery, but it can all be fixed," Mark replied confidently.

_It all can be fixed_, Lexie thought and she shook her head slightly. Mark may be able to fix the physical damage, but Lexie knew he wouldn't be able to fix the rest. The emotional damage, the internal pain that would never really go away – he couldn't fix that no matter how hard he tried.

Julia nodded slowly and looked at Lexie, noticing the younger woman's annoyed expression. "Dr. Grey? Is there…Is there anything else?"

Lexie's eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. "Oh, no. Sorry. No, Dr. Sloan is correct," Lexie said hurriedly. She forced herself to smile. "Everything will be alright."

Julia looked in between Mark and Lexie before speaking directly to Lexie. "So…He _can_ fix it?"

"He definitely can," Lexie said reassuringly. "Don't worry, Miss. Greene." Lexie smiled at the woman, understanding the caution she had to constantly show. "You can trust Dr. Sloan."

Julia looked at Lexie, and her eyes narrowed slightly. She understood. From the way she was staring at her, her eyes warm and caring, from the tone of her voice, quiet and calm, Julia realized that she understood. She understood…She _knew_.

The panic was quick to rise in her body and Julia spoke quickly. "Dr. Sloan," Julia said, her voice suddenly very sharp. "When's my surgery?"

Mark looked at Julia curiously, noting the abrupt change in her voice. "In a few hours. Dr. Grey will move you up to the surgical ward soon."

Julia nodded, and then asked, "Has my boyfriend been contacted yet?"

Mark glanced at Lexie who somewhat reluctantly shook her head. He turned back to Julia and managed a slight smile. "We'll be sure to contact him as soon as possible."

"I want him here," Julia said sternly. "If I'm…I'm going in for all this surgery and, and he has to be here." She looked at Lexie, "You will contact him, won't you?"

_No._ Lexie smiled tightly at Julia and moved forward. "Yes, Miss. Greene," Lexie replied quietly. "Now, I just need you to get into your wheelchair, please."

"I'll leave you to it," Mark said as he watched carefully as Lexie glanced at him, her eyes showing him her upset over the situation. Shaking his head slightly, he left the room. If she couldn't realize that Julia was only doing what Lexie had done to him, then she would seriously need to take a look at her own life before she judged others.

Mark made a mental note to talk to her later.

* * *

"There we go," Lexie mumbled as she pulled the bed sheet over Julia's waist. She took a step back from the bed and looked around for a moment, before her hands landed on the handles of the wheelchair. "I'm going to put this away," she said, her smile wide and fake. After a moment she added, "Oh, and, and phone your boyfriend. Yes, I'll let him know s-straight away."

Before Julia had the time to respond, Lexie was out of the room. Her breath rushed out of her in a long sigh, and she attempted to clear her head. _Phone the boyfriend, the boyfriend._ The boyfriend that most probably put Julia in that hospital bed. Lexie frowned as she made her way over to the nurses' station. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions; Julia hadn't said it was her boyfriend, Lexie was only assuming. Assumptions are nowhere near facts, Lexie knew that.

But that didn't stop the emotion, the unexplained fear, which surfaced every time she saw Julia's distorted face. As her hand shook, Lexie flipped her way through Julia's chart, and her eyes narrowed when she found the series of digits she was looking for. Her hand hovered over the telephone, and suddenly Lexie found herself tapping in the numbers and listening to the dial tone.

"Hello?"

Rough, harsh, cold–Lexie felt a shiver run down her spine at the sound of his voice. Carefully, Lexie spoke. "Hello, is this Mr. Kaye?"

"Yes," he barked. "Who's this?"

"I-I'm Dr. Grey, from Seattle Grace Hospital. I'm sorry to inform you that your girlfriend, Miss. Julia Greene, has been involved in an accident. She's requested you be contacted immediately."

There was pause on the other line, long, purposely delayed. And then, "Fine."

Lexie pulled the telephone away from her ear and looked at it as if it had formed another head. _Fine?_ She just told him his girlfriend was in hospital and all he had to say was _fine?_ Rage bubbled through her veins and Lexie slammed the phone down. Was that all he could say? He didn't even ask how she was doing, how serious it was. He showed no emotion and the realization made Lexie want to throw up.

Glancing up, Lexie stared down the hallway, contemplating going back into Julia's room. Maybe if she talked to her, got the truth from her, then maybe…maybe she wouldn't let him in. Maybe if she told someone else, she would stop seeing him. Maybe she could help her. Save her.

But she wasn't a shrink. She could only help Julia's injuries – the physical side. That was it. It was fine, acceptable, but it was hard to let go of the thought. She was right in front of her, _here_…how could she _not_ do anything?

Mark.

Suddenly, he came into her mind, invaded her once again. He didn't want her to do anything, he had warned her, tried to stop her. But she needed to talk to someone. She needed to express herself and he was the right person. He would always be the right person.

Quickly, Lexie moved in search of him. He would know what to do. He always knew what to do, what to say. It wasn't long before she found him standing in front of the O.R board, his face the epitome of annoyance. Cautiously, Lexie approached him, quietly clearing her throat. "Mark?"

_Mark._ For once, he wasn't Dr. Sloan. It was clear she needed to talk about something unrelated to work. Although he knew this, he couldn't slip past the annoyance that was flowing through him. Instead of talking quietly, enquiring what she wanted, he instead barked, "Did you know they cancelled my surgeries?"

"Er…What?"

"My surgeries," he replied tensely. "Two people cancelled on me. All I have is Greene's case now." He shook his head, "I'm the best damned surgeon around."

Immediately, she rushed to assure him. "Of course you are. They…They might just not feel comfortable in having surgery right now. I'm sure maybe, maybe they'll change their mind. People, people change their minds all the time."

He nodded tersely and finally looked down at her. "At least Miss. Greene hasn't refused surgery."

"Yeah…Lucky," Lexie said quietly. After a moment, she added, "We need to talk."

Lexie held her breath as Mark stared at her, his face void of emotion. And then, "Okay."

Glancing over her shoulder, Lexie nervously played with her watch. "Can we…Go somewhere else?"

When he placed his hand on her elbow and slowly guided her down the hall, Lexie felt her heart leap into her throat. This was him showing he cared. It all felt too much, these little touches, these moments where it was just them and when it was clear he didn't care if someone could catch them. Maybe she shouldn't talk to him, he would only get angry. She knew he didn't support her on this, and probably never would, but she couldn't keep this from him.

Entering the small on-call room, Lexie pulled away from him and moved to stand next to the bed, her hands wrung together. "Okay," she said. "Okay. I-I know you don't approve and I know you don't agree with me on this, and I know I-I was mean to you early, and snappy, and just generally mean to you, and you know, I'm s-sorry for that because you know, I-I would never intentionally be that mean or aggressive or–"

"Grey," he interrupted. A small smile tainted his lips. "Use fewer words."

Lexie laughed nervously and started to nod her head. "Yeah, right…Okay." She shifted so that she could place her hands on her hips. "Let me start again."

Mark nodded and drawled, "Okay…"

"Julia. I-I-I'm concerned about Julia."

His eyes narrowed – he knew where this was going. "Are you concerned about her surgeries?"

Lexie sighed and her hands dropped from her hip. "No," she replied softly.

"Then, are you concerned about her care?"

"No…Yes. Actually…" Lexie sighed and scratched her forehead. "I'm concerned about her after care."

Mark crossed his arms over his chest and nodded, indicating that she should continue. Lexie bit into her bottom lip and suddenly, her hands were flying as she tried desperately to make him understand her worries. "I-I'm concerned she won't have access to sufficient after care. After the surgeries she's going through, she needs to be looked after to avoid things, to avoid infections. We both know a patient can't do that themselves, and that they would need an adequate support system if we're going to go through with such intensive surgery."

"I'm sure her boyfriend can supply that care."

Lexie shook her head furiously. "No, no, I don't agree."

"Why not?"

Her hands were flying again. "_Because_," she stressed. Suddenly, she exploded. "Because he's the one that did that to her! He's the reason why she's in that bed and, and how can he provide care to her if he just wants to do it again? We can't send her home to that…to that monster!"

He shook his head. Did she not know he felt the same every time he thought about her leaving to go home to Thatcher? Quietly, he replied, "You don't know that."

Lexie shook her head and felt like stamping her feet in annoyance. "I do!"

"And what evidence supports your theory?"

Lexie faltered. "I-I…I haven't got _evidence_, evidence. But…I'm going with my gut."

He shook his head. "Your gut can't make decisions for you."

"Dr. Hunt encourages us to go with our gut feelings," she replied and caused him to snort. She shook her head before he could make a comment about the man. Instead she walked forwards and carefully took his hand in hers. "I need you to understand," she whispered.

Mark looked down at their intertwined hands and felt a tug on his heart. He wanted to agree with her, he wanted more than anything to comfort her, but he couldn't. It was frustrating that she didn't realize Julia was only acting the way Lexie previously had. "I understand," he replied. He softly ran his thumb over her skin and gently said, "But I don't think _you_ understand."

Lexie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Lexie…" He shook his head and raised his eyes to the ceiling. His desperation was clear when he spoke next, "Don't you realize Julia is you?"

"Wh-Wh…_What_?"

The hurt reflected clearly in her voice, the confusion was smeared on her angelic features. Mark sighed and led her over to sit on the bed. Their hands were clasped in between their bodies. "You can't see it," he said, his voice low. "You don't want to see that Julia's denial…It's what you did."

Lexie shook her head, "I never–"

"No, Little Grey. You did."

Lexie tried to open her mouth to speak but it felt as if her jaw was wired shut. Had she been in denial? Lexie didn't know but she trusted Mark. Though it surprised her, she trusted him and maybe he was right. Maybe Julia was acting like she had…But Mark had helped her. Why couldn't she do the same for Julia?

Before she had the chance to form words, Mark was continuing in his deep voice. "You denied the causes of your injuries. You were anxious and you wouldn't admit something was wrong. You…You can't help Julia because she doesn't know she needs help. She'll figure it out. Eventually…Like you did. She'll get through this, like you did."

He sighed slightly and his hand tightened around hers. "You're stronger than you think, Lexie," he murmured. "You were able to tell someone. She will too. Until then all we can do is hope she finds the strength she needs."

He fell quiet and Lexie turned to face him. Her eyes roamed over his features and before she realized what she was doing, her fingers were stroking the side of his face, her head slightly tilted. She smiled shyly when he turned his head to look at her, his eyes showing the emotion he felt. If she tried to search for words to explain the feelings that ran through her, Lexie knew words would fail her. The look of honesty, pure sincerity, made Lexie feel…She couldn't place a word to it.

And suddenly, she felt the shift between them.

It was instant.

One moment she was gently running her slender fingers over his skin, enjoying the feel of him, enjoying the knowledge that he cared enough about her to tell her the truth in this situation. The next moment, her knee was in contact with his, his thigh against hers. He released her hand and settled his onto her waist. Her fingers slowed and his eyes darkened. Her head was tilted, his lowered. His face relaxed, hers tensed in anticipation.

And then, it happened.

The physical shift, the pull between them, which caused her lips to come into contact with his.

Raw, passionate, his hair scraped against her tender skin. Lexie clutched onto either side of his face, eager to take possession, and tried to force herself closer to him. Her chest came into contact with his and Lexie moaned into his mouth at the feel of his hands threaded through her hair. This was what she wanted, the need, the want, everything felt so _right_.

Desperate for air, Lexie slowly dragged her lips away from his, making sure to keep her lips resting against his as she panted for oxygen. "Mark…" Her voice sounded distant and she rushed to keep up with the thoughts running through her mind. "I…This…" She laughed slightly and brought her hand up to touch the side of his face. "I don't know…"

He placed his hand over hers and smiled against her lips. "I know."

As she slowly pulled away from him, Lexie rubbed her thumb against his cheek. She smiled but managed to frown slightly. "We can do this, right?"

He didn't even have to think about it. "We can do anything we want, Lexie." He pulled her hand away from his face and brought it to his lips, his smile barely contained as he kissed her knuckles. "We can do these surgeries and we can manage this case."

"And…And the rest?"

He leaned in and gently brushed his lips against hers. Leaning back, he sighed and smiled. "We can do anything, Lexie." The look in his eyes spoke volumes, almost showing the disbelief–the pure, unashamed amazement–he felt because someone as perfect as her was actually sitting in front of him.

"We can do this," he whispered. "Together. We can do this."


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind. The lyrics used belong to Rev Theory.

**A/N:** Thank you for the response, I really appreciate it. I don't particularly like this chapter but it had to be done. The next one will be a lot better, I promise! Let me know what you think! (:

* * *

It took them a while, but eventually Lexie pried herself away from Mark's body. She sighed and turned away from him, her hands clutched together in her lap. She began to stare at her hands intently before she felt Mark's fingers running through her hair.

"What's wrong?" He asked, keeping his voice low. He continued to stroke her hair, a frown in place. "Tell me what's wrong."

Lexie managed a half-shrug. "I just…I can't help worry for her. It…It doesn't matter if I'm wrong or being irrational because to me something's wrong and I don't think I'll feel okay until I know, for sure, that everything is okay."

Mark nodded and for a moment focused on the way her hair easily slipped through his fingers. And then, "Then ask her."

"What?" Lexie turned her head to look up at him, the shock clear on her face.

He sighed, "Don't think I agree with this, because I don't. But if you feel so bad about this then I want you to talk to her."

Her eyes sparkled with tears and Lexie smiled weakly at him. "Really?"

"If it makes you feel better, I want you to talk to her," he said confidently. And then his voice changed and his hand slowed in her hair. He brought his hand down and lightly ran his finger down her cheek. "I want what you want. I may not agree with it, but I care about you." He then added, "And when you care about someone, you encourage them to go with their gut."

Lexie let out a small laugh, "Even if it means agreeing with a meatballer?"

Mark groaned slightly. "Yeah, well, maybe the guy was right…once." He laughed slightly and gently brought his lips to hers. "You can do this, Little Grey."

Lexie nodded, she could do this. She could talk to Julia and get the truth – whatever it was. "Okay…" Pulling away from him, Lexie got up and ran a hand through her hair. "Okay…I'm…" She pointed behind her to the door. "I'm going to do Julia's post-ops and talk to her."

Mark nodded and rested his elbows on his knees, enjoying the determined flare in her eyes. "You do that, Little Grey."

"Okay…" Lexie muttered and then suddenly did a little jump and turned, rushing to the door. "I can do this!"

Mark laughed as she bounded out of the door, making it slam behind her.

* * *

"Hello, Miss. Greene," Lexie said as she walked into Julia's room. "We'll be taking you in to repair the damage to your cheekbone soon, but before then I need to prepare you."

"Is my boyfriend here yet?"

Lexie looked up from the chart and tried to smile despite the bile trying to fight its way up her throat. "Not yet…But if you want I can go check for you."

Julia seemed to be contemplating the idea as she slowly ran her nails over her hand. "Yes…Before I go into surgery, I need to see him."

Lexie bit her tongue and nodded instead. "I'll, er, go see if I can find him."

Leaving the room before Julia could say anymore, Lexie entered the hallway and went straight to the nurses' station. Flipping through Julia's chart, she found Mr. Brian Kaye's cell phone number and punched it into the telephone.

_I hear voices in my head  
They council me  
They understand  
They tell me things that I will do_

Lexie looked up at the noise of the heavy guitar riff and spotted a man coming towards her. His long blonde hair bounced slightly as he frowned and turned off his ringing cell. He walked in the direction of Lexie and once in front of her, he lifted up his small phone. "I guess that was you phoning," he said.

Lexie opened her mouth to say something but then instead placed the telephone receiver away from her ear and back down in its place. She stared at it for a beat and then looked back up at him, a small smile on her face. "Mr. Kaye, I'm Dr. Grey. I'm the intern assigned to your girlfriend's case."

Lexie held her hand out and nearly squeaked when he gripped her hand with force and shook it. Quick to retract her hand, Lexie moved away from the nurses' station and indicated to Julia's room. "Miss. Greene is in here, and I'm about to get her ready for surgery. But she requested to see you beforehand." Lexie moved closer to the door, "If you'll come with me, please…"

"Wait."

Lexie turned around to face him and saw his anxious expression. She was momentarily shocked that he was capable of feeling worry for his girlfriend.

"Has she…Told you what happened to her?" He asked trying to appear calm but Lexie could hear his nerves.

Maybe he wasn't so worried about Julia, but more worried about whether Julia had told anyone the truth.

"We believe that Miss. Greene sustained her injuries when she fell," Lexie replied. "Were you there when she fell?"

She had intended the question to come out innocent but it caused the man in front of her to narrow his eyes. "No," he barked. "I was not. I was at work."

Lexie nodded and reached for the handle of Julia's door. Before she opened the door she turned to look at him, her face serious. "After the intensive surgery Miss. Greene has to go through, she needs a lot of support during her after care. Maybe you should think of working less, or taking some leave."

His eyes narrowed at the suggestion. "She can manage fine while I'm at work. I'm not giving up my work for her."

Lexie sighed slightly and turned the handle, mumbling under her breath, "Shows where your priorities are…"

"What did you say?" He demanded as he followed Lexie into Julia's room.

Upon seeing her boyfriend, Julia smiled brightly. "Hey, honey."

Ignoring her, Brian glared at Lexie. "If you have something to say, you should say it to my face, Dr. _Grey_."

"How are we doing, Miss. Greene?" Lexie asked, effectively ignoring the blonde man standing next to her.

Julia briefly glanced in between the pair and then turned to face her boyfriend. "Honey, is everything okay?"

Brian looked at Julia and his face instantly softened at the sight of her battered appearance. "Everything's fine, babe." He shook his head slightly and whispered, "God…Look at you."

"It's not that bad," Julia said, attempting to smile. "They're gonna fix me up and you'll never know I was in an accident. No-one will know."

_I know_, Lexie thought as she stared at Julia's chart, trying to give the couple some privacy. She knew the correct thing would be to leave the room, but Lexie didn't trust Brian as far as she could throw him. Lexie glanced up and discreetly looked between the couple. She had to admit it to herself: Brian did look legitimately worried for Julia. But...Men can care one moment and hurt you the next, Lexie knew that. She wouldn't leave Julia alone with this man.

Clearing her throat, Lexie smiled at Julia. "I'm sorry but I need to start prepping you for surgery now, Miss. Greene."

"Oh," Julia said, the disappointment clear in her voice. "Oh, yes. Of course." She looked at Brian expectantly, "You'll be here when I come out, won't you?"

Brian shrugged, "Sure."

Lexie continued to smile at Julia; however the need to punch Brian in the face was increasing. The way he had talked to her, so nonchalant as if he couldn't give a damn, Lexie knew he wouldn't be here when Julia returned from surgery.

Once Brian had left the room, Lexie began prepping Julia for surgery. Quietly, Lexie worked, her mind going over how she could approach the subject. How do you ask someone if they're being abused? Do you work tactfully? Work around the subject, trying to come to your own silent conclusion? Or do you simply ask, straight out? And how would you know the truth? She could easily lie, everyone lies.

"Are you alright, Dr. Grey?"

Lexie's eyes snapped up to Julia's and Lexie smiled nervously. "Er, everything's fine," she replied quietly. "I'm nearly done here…"

Julia tilted her head to one side and then asked, "Is there something you'd like to talk about?"

"Oh, er…" Lexie looked around nervously and then before she knew it, she was shaking her head. "Nothing, Miss. Greene."

"You look like you need to talk."

"No, no talking," Lexie replied, quickly scribbling notes down in Julia's chart. She shouldn't ask, she didn't know how to ask. But…Julia was asking her if there was something she had to say. This was her chance. Say something.

Snapping the chart shut, Lexie held it to her chest and looked at Julia. She sighed and started. "I used to fall over a lot too. I never…It was never as serious as y-your injuries, but I used to fall down. And it hurt. _A lot_."

Julia nodded slowly, realizing that this was something Lexie had to say. She stared at the younger woman and smiled slightly confused. "Okay…"

Lexie gripped the chart tighter to her chest. This was harder than she thought. "One day, I fell over…_really_ badly. And I, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what I _could_ do. And then I realized…I realized that I had to tell someone." Lexie stared at Julia firmly. "I realized if I _told_ someone it would get better."

Julia narrowed her eyes slightly. "What would get better?"

"My…_falls_. If I told someone, they would…hurt less. Things would get better."

Julia shook her head slightly. "I really don't understand what you're trying to say, Dr. Grey."

Lexie sighed and dropped her hands from her chest. With the chart dangling in her hand, Lexie gave a small half-shrug. "I just…I, you…Are you okay, Julia?"

"Well, besides my face, I'm fine," Julia replied, laughing slightly.

"No," Lexie said, and waved the chart around slightly. She pointed it at Julia. "No, you. Are you okay, besides all this? Is your…life okay?"

"Er, Dr, Grey…I, I don't know what you're trying to get at, but I-I'm fine."

"No, Julia," Lexie whispered. "You aren't."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Grey, but I don't think you know how I'm feeling," Julia replied, her annoyance showing. "I know that everything's fine. Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but I'm _fine_."

"Julia…I want you to know that you can talk to me. If anything's wrong," Lexie said gently, moving closer to the bed. "I…I-I've…been there."

"What?" Julia asked, frowning. "What are you talking about?"

Lexie darted her eyes nervously, and then whispered, "I know what it's like. The…The…_falling_."

Julia laughed slightly and shook her head. "I really don't–"

"It was Brian wasn't it?" Lexie asked, the question bursting out of her before she could think. "H-He did…He did this to you."

Julia's eyes widened and she stared at Lexie. "How…" She glared at the younger woman and shook her head in disgust. "How could you say that?"

Lexie shook her head and reached out to touch Julia's hand but Julia was quick to retract it from Lexie's grasp. "You don't have to protect him," Lexie said desperately. "It's okay."

"No, no, it's not okay," Julia gritted out. Her lips curled up in disgust. "How could…How could you ask that? What right do you have to say something like that?"

"But–"

"No, Dr. Grey. _No_." Julia's eyes flared with anger. "Brian did _not_ do this to me and I'm disgusted you can even _think_ that! My boyfriend may not be the nicest man but he would never, _never_ hurt me. "

Finally, it dawned on Lexie. Julia was telling the truth. The way she looked at Lexie, hurt, angry, appalled. Lexie paled and rushed to explain. "Miss. Greene, I'm so sorry–"

"No," Julia said as she shook her head. "Get out my room."

"Please, Miss–"

"Get out of my room!" Julia shouted. "I don't care what you think and I don't care what gave you this idea but you are _wrong_, Dr. Grey. You are wrong and I don't want you in here. I don't want you anywhere near me."

Before Lexie could reply, a knock at the door caused the women to look and see Mark walking towards them. He looked in between the two, noticing the tears in Lexie's eyes and the anger on Julia's face. He tried not to sigh, but it looked as if Lexie's gut feeling was wrong.

"Miss. Greene, we'll be taking you into surgery now," Mark announced and then looked at Lexie briefly. He turned back to Julia, a tight smile on his face. "Is everything alright?"

"No, Dr. Sloan, everything is not alright." Julia glared at Lexie and then turned to look up at her surgeon. "Will Dr. Grey be assisting you on my surgery?"

"Yes, she will be."

"Well, I don't feel comfortable with that," Julia replied sternly. "I would appreciate if Dr. Grey is removed from my case."

Mark nodded. "Don't worry, Miss. Greene. Dr. Grey will be taken care of." Mark easily took Julia's chart out of Lexie's grip and then nodded again at Julia. "I'm sorry if Dr. Grey upset you. I'll see you after your surgery, Miss. Greene."

Hurriedly, Mark grabbed Lexie by the elbow and forced her to walk. Once outside, it didn't take long for the tears to leave Lexie's eyes.

"I-I thought…I, my…" Lexie's face crumpled and she choked out a sob.

Mark sighed and took her by the elbow, dragging her down the hallway and into the nearest stairwell. Once the door had shut behind them, he stood in front of Lexie, watching as she swiped at her face. "Look, you were wrong. You made a mistake," Mark said calmly. "It's okay."

"How, how is this okay?" Lexie said as she tried to steady her breathing. Her lip trembled as she tried to speak. "I, I thought he was…I wanted to help her. I, I didn't think…" Lexie shook her head and looked up at the ceiling, tears slowly running down her cheek. "I thought she was like me…"

"I know…I know this upset you, Lexie, but you need to calm down," Mark said gently. He moved closer to her and brushed his fingers over her wet cheek, catching her tears. "I'm sorry you were wrong, but isn't it better this way? Isn't it a good thing that you were wrong?"

Lexie slowly brought her head down and looked at Mark. She nodded dejectedly, "I know you're right…But I just…"

"I know," Mark said as he took her hand in his. "I get it. I do." Mark sighed and nodded to the door behind him. "But right now, I need to go into surgery."

"Oh, yeah…Alright."

Mark leaned down and kissed Lexie briefly. "This is a good thing, Lexie. Remember that."

Lexie nodded and tried to smile at him. "I know."

Mark groaned slightly and pecked her on the lips again. "It's _good_. Julia's fine." He kissed her again and then remembered the surgery he was booked for. Julia's surgery. "Okay, I need to go…"

"Okay," Lexie replied as she leaned up and kissed him. Kissing him always made things better.

"Mmm, okay," Mark mumbled against her lips. "I'm going."

Lexie smiled against his lips and wrapped her arm over his shoulder, threading her fingers through his hair. "Go then," she whispered, enjoying the way his body felt against hers.

His tongue slipped into her mouth and they both groaned as their kiss deepened. Mark was the first to break away. "I need to go save faces," he said as he rubbed his lips over hers.

Lexie nodded as she caught his bottom lip between her teeth. Slowly releasing him, Lexie took the first step back. She smiled sweetly at him when he stared at her, his mouth slightly open, his lips red from hers. "Okay," she said quietly.

Mark looked at her for a moment, entranced by her full lips and large doe eyes. All of a sudden he wanted to back her up against the wall and–

Mark caught his thoughts and then ran a hand through his hair. He pointed to the door behind him. "Surgery."

Lexie nodded, "Surgery."

Mark made a strangled noise in the back of his throat and then stormed up to her, taking her face in his hands, and kissed her. It seemed to go on forever but soon enough, Mark let go of Lexie and turned on his heel. "Okay. I need to save a face," he muttered and gripped the door handle, swinging it open.

Lexie blinked as the door shut behind Mark and she was left dazed in the stairwell. Touching her lips, Lexie smiled slightly and although Mark was long gone, she whispered, "Okay…"


	21. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews! I'm glad people enjoyed the last chapter. I'm not too sure about the ending scene, when I have time I might edit it. But anyway, let me know what you think! (:

* * *

Lexie remained in the stairwell, staring at the door, for a little while longer. It was peaceful in there, the sounds of the hospital drowning out around her. She smiled slightly, her lips slightly tingling from Mark's. There was no doubting Mark; he was _definitely_ a good kisser. But there was more to him, to them, than just the kisses.

It was the way he held her face, so delicately, afraid she would break. It was the way he brushed his lips against hers, as if he couldn't believe she was in front of him. It was the way he put everything, every emotion, every ounce of his being, into making her feel as if there was nothing wrong. With him, there _was_ nothing wrong. He took away everything and replaced her life with pleasure, happiness..._hope_.

Lexie grinned slightly and walked to the door. She walked back into the hallway and was greeted by the rushing noises of monitors and chattering. With nothing else to do, Lexie strolled down the hallway, heading towards the intern locker room. Once she arrived at the door, she pushed her way through to find an empty room.

Scanning around, Lexie sighed slightly and walked over to her locker. Of course there was no-one in here, she thought dryly, they were all too busy working on a case. At least _they_ were saving people. Lexie chewed on her bottom lip nervously at the thought. She wasn't doing anything. She had no work, and she _always_ had work to do. It made her uncomfortable to think she was wasting her time. But then, that was hardly her fault.

_Julia._

An image of the woman's angry face flashed before Lexie's eyes. Images of her injuries burned into her mind forever. Was Julia really telling the truth? Lexie thought about it as she slowly sat down on the bench. Maybe Julia was right, she just sustained her injuries from a fall. It would explain her utter outrage at the suggestion of Brian intentionally hurting her.

It made sense, and Lexie had no real reason to dispute what she had been told, but for some reason she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. It could be her paranoia, but there was something..._Something_ happened. Lexie frowned as she glared into the distance, concentrating. Or maybe...Maybe something was going to happen? Although it might not have happened yet, something could easily change between Julia and Brian and then no-one would be there to help Julia. She would be alone and frightened.

_Just like you._

Lexie froze as it crossed her mind. Icy water filtered through her veins and Lexie felt the fear claw at her throat. Alone. Frightened. In the dark.

It wasn't Julia. Julia was the excuse, the trigger of the series of bad memories, of the need to stop it from happening again.

It wasn't Julia that feared her own home, that feared being alone.

It wasn't Julia that continuously fell.

"Shit," Lexie muttered as she covered her face with her cold hands. "Shit. Shit. Shit!"

She had caused a patient to become distraught because of her irrational conclusions. Because of her experiences, because of her knowledge, her photographic memory, she had caused unnecessary harm to a patient. Julia was fine; it was Lexie that had the problems.

Lexie cursed again, why couldn't she figure this out before? "Damn it," she whispered as she got up and opened her locker door. She stared at its contents for a moment before she looked down at her watch. She could go to the clinic and help, she could go down to the E.R, but as soon as Julia's out of surgery, Lexie gets off shift.

Lexie stared into her locker for another moment and then quickly grabbed her bag and jacket. Now that she knew she was more screwed up than she had first realized, all Lexie wanted to do was have a drink. Drinking solved everything.

_No, it doesn't._

Lexie frowned and muttered, "Shut up."

"Talking to yourself again?"

"Ah!" Lexie yelped and turned around to see Mark standing in the doorway. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What the Hell, Mark?"

Mark shrugged and tried not to smile at the fact she used his actual name without him having to prompt her. "I would say sorry, but I'd be lying," he replied as he closed the door behind him and walked over to her. He leaned against the set of lockers and looked down at her bag. "Getting ready, Little Grey?"

Lexie rolled her eyes and slammed her locker shut. "Yes," she replied as she turned and walked around the block of lockers, out of his line of vision. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get changed."

Mark nodded although she couldn't see him and went to sit on the bench. He glanced at the door briefly, wondering if he should lock it in case a stupid intern came in and caused a fuss about them being together. Mark thought about it and then disregarded the thought. "Hey," he said loudly. "Why don't you go into the bathroom?"

"This way is quicker," Lexie replied from behind the block of lockers. "What does it matter, anyway?"

"No, nothing really." Mark looked around the place and then upon noticing something, smirked and turned around on the bench so he could face the other wall. After a moment he said, "Just makes it harder."

Although Lexie had a fairly good idea where this conversation was heading, she took the bait anyway. "Makes what harder?" She asked as she took off her scrub top.

"Resisting," he said quietly. He licked his lips and there was a gleam in his eyes. "To think...You're naked behind there."

Lexie rolled her eyes when she could practically hear his smirk. "I have underwear on," she muttered.

"Red."

Lexie's laughter burst through the air. "No," she said and smiled slightly.

"White."

"Guess again."

"Purple."

"What makes you think I'd wear purple?" Lexie asked, mildly amused that he had guessed correctly.

Mark grinned and then casually replied, "I can see you."

Lexie laughed. "Unless you have x-ray vision, I don't think you can see through the big blocks of metal separating us, Dr. Sloan."

Mark nodded. "Good point," he said as he moved further towards the edge of the bench. "I may not have x-ray vision, but there's one thing you've forgotten."

Lexie snorted as she buttoned up her shirt. "And what's that?"

"There's a mirror on the opposite wall," Mark said casually. "By the way, extra points on the matching underwear. Not many women do that."

For a moment Lexie was frozen. And then, she made a sound that resembled a scream and stormed out from behind the lockers. She glared at a grinning Mark, who had stood up to face her. "Mark!" Lexie shouted. "That is not appropriate!"

"So?"

Lexie spluttered, trying to form an answer. "Wh-What do you mean _so_? So? So you can't just...just _watch_ people getting undressed! That's, that's wrong!"

Mark rolled his eyes and moved closer to Lexie. "I wasn't intentionally looking," he said calmly and reached out to finish buttoning up her shirt. "I was looking around the place and then noticed the mirror. I couldn't see anything but glimpses of skin and purple."

Lexie grunted, not willing to admit that she loved the feel of him slowly buttoning her shirt. "Just glimpses?"

"Yes," Mark said quietly. "Glances. Small peeks. Little hints of skin." He slowly lowered his face to kiss her. When he pulled back, he whispered, "Tiny peeps of purple."

Lexie laughed quietly. "Do you know how ridiculous you sound saying 'peep'?"

Mark shrugged and pulled away from her. "Don't you dare tell anyone," he mildly warned as he walked towards the door. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Lexie nodded, finally realizing that he was already dressed to leave. She went back around the lockers to retrieve her bag and jacket. Slipping on her jacket, she glanced at Mark and couldn't stop herself from asking. "How'd the surgery go?"

"Fine," Mark replied. "Julia's fine. They're both fine."

Lexie nodded and tried to keep her face from showing any emotion. "Okay," she said as she walked over to Mark and smiled at him. "Let's go."

* * *

As Mark and Lexie walked through the double doors and into the night, Lexie sighed heavily, relieved to finally be out of the hospital. Today was hard; it had drained her and made her wish she wasn't as screwed up as she was. But, as she was ever the optimist, Lexie was looking forward to tomorrow. She was finally getting a day off.

She glanced to the side to look at Mark. In this light, under the dim street lights, he looked even better, although Lexie never thought that could be possible. With his strong features and rough edges, Lexie felt the need to bite her lip to stop herself moaning at the sight of him. She was contemplating moving closer to him when his deep voice interrupted her silent plans.

"I know it got to you."

Lexie looked up at Mark, a questioning expression on her face. "What?"

"Julia. The whole case...I know it got to you," Mark said as he moved slightly closer to her. There was no-one around, and he knew no-one would appear this late at night. With that in mind, Mark reached out to take Lexie's hand in his. "I know you took it personally."

"I...I didn't take it personally," Lexie said, withdrawing her hand from his. She crossed her arms over her chest and then said, "It didn't get to me."

"It did."

"It didn't."

"I know it did."

Lexie stopped walking and whirled around to face Mark, her face showing her annoyance. "It didn't," she gritted out.

He shook his head, at times, he didn't understand Lexie. It was obvious that she was hurt by Julia's case, he knew it brought up a lot of unwanted feelings for her, so why couldn't she admit to it? What was so wrong in admitting that she was upset?

"Why are you so angry?" Mark asked.

"I'm not angry," Lexie replied defiantly.

"Lexie..."

"It's none of your business whether it affected me or not," Lexie said. She didn't need him reminding her that today had been hard. She wanted to leave the hospital and forget that this case had hurt her personally. All she wanted to do was forget and here Mark was reminding her.

Lexie grabbed the strap of her handbag and looked at Mark boldly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I-I'm going home now." Lexie turned and continued to walk towards the car park when Mark stopped her.

"No."

With his hand on her shoulder, effectively pausing her movements, Lexie slowly turned to look up at him. Her eyes remained steady on his and Lexie was slightly impressed that he wasn't fazed by her attitude. "I'm trying to go home," Lexie said, her voice low. She watched his jaw twitch slightly and she titled her head to one side. "Are you going to move?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't think you should go home."

Lexie narrowed her eyes slightly at the determined stance of Mark. "I have to go home."

"You don't have to."

"And where would I go?" Lexie asked, slightly amused by the conversation. She knew what he was trying to do, but she wasn't going to let it happen. She was going back to her home whether he liked it or not.

"You can come back with me," Mark replied confidently.

Lexie smirked slightly, "Are you trying to get me to sleep with you, Dr. Sloan?"

Mark's eyes widened, "What? No! God, no!" When he noticed Lexie frown, he rushed to redeem himself. "I, er, it's not that I don't want to...I mean, it's not like you aren't..." Mark sighed and ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. "I just don't want you to be alone."

Lexie heart clenched at the thought and whispered, "I'm not going to be alone."

Her eyes lowered and Mark felt his heart beat faster. "I know," he replied, his voice just as quiet as hers. "That's why I don't want you to be there."

Lexie looked down at her hands and shrugged. How could she make him understand? She knew what he was implying, she knew he was afraid for her, but she needed to go home. After today all she wanted to do was lock herself away in her room and relax. It was her home, no matter what the situation. She always went home. Thatcher might not even be there.

"I have to go home," Lexie replied dejectedly. "I just...It's my _home_."

"Lexie, you can't–"

"I don't want him to ruin it," Lexie said confidently as she raised her head to look at Mark. "I don't want to run away from my own home. It's mine, he shouldn't...h-he shouldn't have to ruin it for me. I won't let him."

Mark sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, attempting to remain calm. When he opened his eyes again he saw Lexie stare at him, her eyes big, anxious and unwavering. She looked so beautiful that he couldn't let her go home. Mark wouldn't let Thatcher ruin her. He knew now, he had no excuse for not protecting her.

"Little Grey," Mark murmured as he moved closer to her. "Don't do this."

His body close and overpowering, Lexie swallowed nervously. "Y-You can't do this," Lexie whispered when she felt his fingers brush against her hand. "It's not...going to work."

Mark threaded his fingers through hers and brought her hand to his lips, gently brushing his lips over her skin. "Do what?" He asked, his blue eyes darkening as he watched her sigh.

"You're seducing me," Lexie said, a small smile on her lips. "You're not allowed to do that."

Mark slowly snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her against him. Smiling slightly, he leaned down and gently kissed her. After hearing Lexie moan slightly, Mark pulled away and grinned. "I'm not allowed to do that am I?" He asked innocently.

"Er..." Lexie frowned slightly. "Er, you...I...and, er...Huh?"

Mark laughed and kissed her again, his hand cupping her cheek. He allowed himself to kiss her for a moment before he leaned back. "Are you still going to leave without me?" He asked as he ran his thumb over her cheek.

Lexie kept her eyes close, trying to clear her mind. "That was unfair," she finally replied. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared at him, her eyes showing how sorry she felt. "That was nice, but unfair. I...I'm..." She sighed and looked up at him sadly. "It's not going to stop me, Mark."

Mark raised his other hand so both hands framed her delicate face. He shook his head slightly, "I don't want you to go home tonight. You can't do this. I won't let you."

Lexie sighed, "Mark, I–"

"No," he said forcefully. "I am not letting you go into that house."

He stood in front of her, his eyes intense, his stance firm. His eyes ran over her face and then he sighed, as if he had come to his own silent conclusion. "I don't want you in there, Lexie. Not without me. Not without someone to protect you."

His soft voice caressed her soul and Lexie felt the tears shoot to her eyes. She wanted to leave with him, she wanted to go to stay with him tonight, but she couldn't. It was as if her body wouldn't move towards him. She had her car, she had her keys, she was meant to go home. To her, it didn't matter that she wouldn't be able to sleep, that she would lay awake listening to any noise, any movements from down the hall – to Lexie, none of this mattered.

It was still her home. No matter what.

She was stronger than he thought. For all this time, she had been able to go home and defend herself. It may not have worked as well as she had hoped, but she was able to defend herself. She wasn't weak. She wasn't going to leave her home because of some monster. She could do this.

"I can't leave," she whispered, her voice barely audible. Nervously, she fiddled with her watch and looked at him desperately. "I can't _not_ go home. I-I just can't." After a beat, she added, "It's my _home_. I deserve to be there. I'm not walking out on my home."

His eyes softened and he gently moved his hands down her face, along her neck and then finally rested each hand on her shoulders. Lexie felt the warmth coarse through her body. Briefly she wondered what it would feel like to have his warmth surrounding her, all night.

"I'm not leaving you alone," he said gently. "I don't care if I have to drag you kicking and screaming to the Archfield, or if I have to go to your...house with you. I'm _staying_ with you."

Lexie blinked and looked at him curiously. "You...You really want to stay with me?"

The uncertainty, the near disbelief in her voice, caused Mark to smile. "Of course I want to stay."

"I..." She tried to speak, to say something, anything that could show the gratification she felt, but words failed her. For once, words failed.

So, instead Lexie placed her smaller hand on one of his and gently removed it from her shoulder. Threading her fingers through Mark's, Lexie smiled shyly at him. She looked at him, her big eyes amazed by the sincerity in his voice and decisions.

It was genuine.

Everything about him, about their relationship, it was genuine. Lexie knew that moments like this, with them standing alone under the night sky, moments where it was just them and their racing heartbeats, when it was just them and a world filled of all their fears and anxieties, it was moments like this where Lexie could say: yes, what they have is true.

It's real.

And it's never going to change.


	22. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews! This is a ridiculously long chapter by my regular standards, so I'm sorry but I hope people enjoy it! Let me know what you think! (:

* * *

Still standing underneath the dark sky, Lexie smiled at Mark. "Can we...Go back to my place?" She asked hopefully. She wanted nothing more to sleep in the safety of Mark's arms in her own bed.

Mark looked down at her and although he felt slightly reluctant to do so, he nodded. "Come on," he said, nodding to the parking lot behind them. "Let's go then."

Lexie tried not to grin when Mark took her hand and lead her in the direction of his car. It didn't matter that her car was still sitting in a parking bay; she would collect it another time. Right now, she was going home with Mark Sloan and nothing was going to delay that.

Once in the car, Lexie turned to face Mark. "So," she said as he turned the key in the ignition and began reversing out of the space. "Are you sure about this?"

Mark narrowed his eyes as he continued to drive towards the hospital exit. "Yes," he said. "If you're already having doubts then tell me now and I'll–"

"No, no," Lexie rushed to say. She shook her head and then when they came to a stop at the junction leading out of the hospital, Lexie asked, "Which way are we going?"

Mark thought about it for a moment, knowing that if they turned right they would head back to the Archfield. He rolled his eyes and slammed down the left indicator. "Left. We're going to your house."

Lexie tried not to smile but couldn't help her grin. For once, it looked as if everything was going to be fine.

* * *

Soon enough, they arrived at Lexie's house. As always, the lights were out and Thatcher's car wasn't in the drive. Unlike before, Lexie took Mark's hand and walked confidently to the door. Unlocking it, she flipped on the hallway light. She didn't check the living room. She knew Thatcher wasn't in the house and instead of following her routine, Lexie smiled at Mark and said, "Let's go upstairs."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "Don't you want to stay downstairs for a while?"

Lexie shook her head. "Upstairs, now."

Lexie turned and began to walk up the stairs, before glancing back to see Mark standing by the door. She tried not to smirk. "What, doesn't the great Mark Sloan want to take a girl to bed?"

Mark's eyes widened. "What? We aren't...I mean, we shouldn't–" He stopped when Lexie burst out laughing. He narrowed his eyes. "Oh, you're funny." He growled and followed her up the stairs. "Ever want to be a comedian?"

Lexie laughed and lead the way to her bedroom. She opened the door and turned on the lights. "It had occurred to me once," Lexie replied as she kicked off her shoes and unbuttoned her jacket. Hooking it on her closet door knob, Lexie grinned at Mark. "I could have done stand-up but the need to cut people up was too strong."

Mark laughed despite the fact he was trying to act annoyed. "Now, that doesn't sound sadistic at all."

Lexie laughed and shrugged as she opened her closet door and grabbed her pyjamas. "Like you didn't have the same urge," she replied flippantly. Turning around she smiled at Mark who was sitting on her bed. She held up her clothes and then nodded towards to her en suite bathroom. "I'm gonna go change."

Mark nodded. "I'll be here."

Lexie smiled and then waved her hand in the direction of her television. "Keep yourself amused." She walked towards the door and then on a second thought she turned back and said, "No peeking this time."

Mark laughed and shook his head. "You make life so hard for me, Grey."

Lexie laughed, "Deal with it, Sloan."

Mark grinned and then once the bathroom door had shut, he stood up and took off his jacket. Walking over to her desk chair, he placed it on the back of the chair and then took off his shoes. He glanced at her small antennae TV and smiled wryly, wondering if it was black and white. Once he found the remote and flipped it on, he nearly laughed at the fuzzy image that came on the screen. It was in color; however the quality was so bad it might as well have displayed the pictures in black and white.

Moving back to her bed, Mark sat on the edge of the bed and flipped through the channels, trying to find something he recognized. He paused when he thought he could make out a news desk. Turning up the volume, the background noise was so bad that he could barely make out the news.

Mark looked up when the bathroom door opened and Lexie stepped out. His blood instantly rushed south.

Unknowing of his reaction, Lexie moved gracefully from the bathroom doorway and to her closet. She put away her clothes and then turned to face her TV. She frowned slightly and muttered, "The signal is always messing up." She went over and stood in front of the small box. "Give me two seconds and I'll fix it up for you."

Mark grunted although he wasn't sure of what she had said. Instead, his eyes were fixated on her ass in those ridiculously small shorts. His eyes trailed upwards to the way her curves suddenly appeared out of nowhere because of the equally small tank top she chose to wore. He could see the outline of her purple bra through the white material of her top.

When Lexie leaned forward slightly to reach to the back of the TV, Mark thought he was going to die right then and there.

Unknowingly, he made a strangled noise. His eyes widened when Lexie turned her head, a worried look on her face. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Mark replied gruffly. He cleared his throat. "I'm fine." He glanced around her to the TV screen, noticing that the picture was still fuzzy however the sound had returned to normal. "How are you going to fix the picture?"

Lexie smiled sweetly. "Like this." She turned back around and suddenly, there was a loud thump as Lexie smacked the back of the TV with her hand.

Mark laughed when the picture returned to normal. "Nicely done, Little Grey."

Lexie grinned triumphantly and came to sit down next to Mark. Immediately she noticed the way he tensed when her leg came into contact with his. Lexie frowned and placed her hand on his knee. "Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing," Mark replied sternly as he focused on the news and not the feeling of her warmth.

Lexie frowned and gently rubbed his knee. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked quietly.

"What?" Mark turned and looked down at her and realized how afraid she was. He sighed and placed a kiss on her forehead. "You didn't do anything wrong," he said. He laughed nervously. "It's just me being an idiot."

Lexie smiled and briefly kissed his lips. "Mark Sloan? An idiot? Well, that's one way to describe you..."

"Watch what you say, Grey. I can ban you from my O.R," he warned; though it was clear to both of them that he would never do such a thing.

"I was only going to say nice things," Lexie said. She leant against his shoulder for a moment and sighed happily at the feel of his thumb running over her hand. It was nice to just sit with him, between the two of them there was no need for words, moments like this proved how much they cared for each other.

After a while, Lexie was slowly slipping into sleep, when Mark's husky voice alerted her to the fact she was still lying against him. Lexie groaned lightly, "What did you say?" She whispered, her eyes remaining closed.

Mark smiled slightly and kissed the top of her head. "I said that I need to go to the bathroom and that you should get into bed properly," Mark whispered.

Lexie sighed and slowly dragged her body away from his. She swayed slightly and then flopped to her right, landing just under her pillows. Mark laughed and stood up. "Here," he whispered as he moved her pillows lower on the bed so she could rest her head on them. He rolled his eyes slightly when she grunted and turned around, not even bothering to go underneath the blankets.

Mark ran his hand through her hair and smiled when she smiled in her sleep. He kissed her gently on the cheek before stepping away from the bed and headed towards the bathroom. On his way to the bathroom, he made sure to turn off the TV. He didn't want anything interrupting Lexie's sleep.

* * *

After a while, Lexie felt a shiver run down her spine. She frowned and kept her eyes closed but when it happened again, she groaned and opened her eyes. She stared at the bathroom door and noticed the light coming from underneath the closed door. She sighed and sat up before she shivered again. Lexie narrowed her eyes at her bare legs and shuffled up the bed so that she could eventually slip herself underneath the blankets. Pulling up the pillows as well, Lexie shuffled around, attempting to get comfortable.

If she concentrated she could hear Mark moving around in her bathroom and Lexie smiled at the knowledge that he was so close to her. It was a comforting feeling; the reassurance she felt knowing Mark was going to stay with her made Lexie grin with excitement. She was safe with him near her, he was going to help her, and he was going to save her.

Lexie smiled, with Mark around nothing bad could happen. She was protected with Mark. Mark would never let anything bad happen to her.

Although her eyes were closed, Lexie wasn't asleep and when she heard the bathroom light click off, her eyes flew open. She normally left the bathroom light on. She always left her lamp on, but she hadn't had time to turn it on today. Lexie heard the door unlock and saw it open to reveal Mark. He smiled slightly at her and then said quietly, "Go back to sleep."

Instead of doing what he wanted, Lexie watched as Mark walked back into the room and walked towards her bedroom door, to where the light switch was. She could feel the anxiety rush through her as she saw him reach towards the light switch.

_Don't do it_, she thought as she watched him intently. _Don't. Don't. Don't._

But then, he did.

It was as if it happened in slow motion.

His arm rising, his strong hands turning towards the white panel on the wall...His long fingers brushing against the smooth metal...Her heartbeat increasing, her throat constricting...Tightening, threatening her, choking her as suddenly, the lights snapped out.

Darkness encased them and Lexie clutched at the blankets tighter, holding them against her chest. Her knuckles white in the dark, glowing even, Lexie could barely see him walk towards her. But then, there he was. His tall body in front of her, filling her sight. The claws scratched along her surface as he came closer to her, the bed sinking down to one side. It was happening again, the thoughts, the wishes of wanting the floor to rip open below her and swallow him. Her. Anyone, just as long as this stopped.

The darkness stirred a lot of emotions in Lexie. Anxiety. Anger. Fear. Terror. It alerted her to danger.

Pain.

Touches that didn't belong.

His hand was on her leg. She could hear a mummer, a deep throaty voice, whispering into the abyss, but Lexie couldn't place who it was. All she could think of was the touch. The touch, the pressure of something, _someone_, on her leg.

"Lexie."

Her body was rigid, the blankets firmly wrapped around her. He couldn't touch her if she was wrapped up. She was safe if she stood still. If she didn't react he wouldn't carry on. He would get bored. Or he would quicken his motions.

"Lexie?"

Where did Mark go? He was right here, she _saw_ him. Lexie knew Mark would protect her, he would save her, he was supposed to save her from this. Where was he?

"Lexie?"

It was okay. _One, two, three, four._ It would end soon. Soon. Why wasn't he doing anything? She was up to ten now. _Eleven, twelve, thirteen._ Why wasn't he hitting her? Why wasn't he stroking her leg like he normally wanted to? _Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen._

"_Lexie_."

From somewhere, she found her voice. "Just do it."

Her harsh, broken whisper felt like a slap against Mark's face. Do it? Do what? And then, like icy water running down his spine, the realization hit him. Hurt her. She was waiting for him to hurt her. The pain that stabbed his chest, his gut, it made Mark feel like throwing up.

He would _never_ hurt Lexie. He would never want to even contemplate hurting her. And yet here she was, waiting, unmoving, simply anticipating the moment when he would punch her. He gently spoke in a strangled whisper. "No."

_No._ It was a word Lexie had used many a time but she had never heard him say it. He never said _no_, or _sorry_ – they didn't exist in his vocabulary. It was always _bitch_, _slut_, _shut up_, _stop moving_. Was this him? Was this her father sitting at the end of the bed, his hand weighing down her leg? Lexie squinted into the darkness and like magic; his features became clear.

A strong jaw bone and high cheekbones.

Facial hair, dark in colour. Short hair.

His blue eyes were instantly recognizable. They appeared darker in this lighting but she knew they were his. They held no malice, simply beautiful eyes displaying genuine feelings of worry.

"Mark?"

Her voice was a harsh plea, her voice showing how desperate she was to recognize the body in front of her. She blindly reached her hand out and it came into contact with his thigh. "Mark?" She asked again, her voice wobbling under the pressure, the idea that this wasn't Mark, that it was _him_ instead, that he was here, in front of her again and she was crazy and couldn't tell the difference, not unless he ran his hand further up her leg and did what he always did and–

"I'm here, Little Grey."

A sob was forced out of her small body at the sound of his voice. "Mark..." Lexie scrambled to touch his hand and finally found the hand which was resting on her knee. She had to get it off her.

She began to push his hand away. "Mark, get off me. Get off, please, don't, _don't_, get off me," she cried.

He stood up before she could say anything else. He didn't want to hear her cries anymore, her pleas for him not to touch her. It wasn't right, this wasn't meant to happen. He couldn't handle this. He didn't know how to handle this situation. Quickly he walked over the wall and flipped on the light.

The blinding whiteness flooded into the small room. The shadows disappeared and it was day again. Her tears stopped and Lexie looked up at Mark through her blurry eyes and saw his haggard expression. She watched as he ran a hand over his face. He needed sleep, he needed rest and here she was causing him grief. He was better off without her.

"You should go," Lexie whispered as she continued to stare at him. Her eyes were clear now and so she instantly saw the change in his appearance. His eyes widened, his eyebrows shot up to the sky. "You should go," Lexie repeated calmly.

"Does it look like I want to leave?" Mark asked, still in shock that she could suggest such a thing. Why would he leave her now, when she needed him the most?

Lexie gave a half-shrug. "You look like you need some rest."

"So do you."

"I won't be able to sleep. You need to sleep. You won't get any sleep if you stay here with me all night."

Mark shook his head. "Lexie–"

"No, you should go." Lexie looked down at her blanket and began to fiddle with the hem. "You should go," she whispered. "You need sleep. You don't...You don't need this."

"Need what?"

Lexie laughed bitterly and indicated to herself. "_This_," she stressed. "_Me._ I-I'm..." Lexie sighed dejectedly. "I'm a mess."

"I know," Mark said and after a moment he began to make his way back to the bed. He stood at the foot of her bed and watched her as she wiped her eyes and sighed. "You've been through a lot. You're allowed to be a mess."

"I don't want to...I don't want to feel like this anymore. I can't do this anymore. I can't. I just...I don't...I don't want to be like this," Lexie said, unable to raise her voice over a mumbled whisper. "I don't want to be like this."

Mark sighed, "I know."

"I just..." Lexie trailed off and shrugged. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Mark asked, frowning. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Lexie shrugged again and continued to stare at her blanket. She refused to look up for fear that Mark would notice the tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry you have to deal with me," Lexie whispered. "I'm sorry I ever unloaded this on you. You don't need this."

"I decide what I do and don't need," Mark replied sternly. "If I didn't want to deal with this, with you, would I really be here? Do you really think I would waste my time if I thought you didn't matter?"

When Lexie shrugged again, Mark shook his head and walked closer to her, slowly edging his way to the head of the bed. "If I didn't...care about you, if we weren't...I wouldn't be here, Lexie. You know me, or you should know me better. Do you really think I see you as a burden?"

His voice was soft now, gently, carefully trying to coax her to talk to him. They needed to talk about this, about her issues. It was time to stop ignoring them. Slowly, Mark lowered himself onto the edge of the bed, making sure to avoid contact with Lexie's still body. He watched her intently for a moment before he asked, "Why don't you believe that I want to help you?"

"I..."

Lexie shook her head, her mouth slamming shut. How was she meant to explain this to him? How could she explain that she wanted him, she wanted him to be with her so badly, but she was too afraid to be close to him? She wanted him but she couldn't allow herself to act upon it. They needed space; he didn't _really_ want to be here, why would he want to be here with her when he could get nothing out of it?

She was scared of him. He scared her. She wanted him but he terrified her. Everything about him, about _them_, it scared her and Lexie wished it didn't. He didn't need her and her irrelevant fears; he didn't need someone as crazy as her.

He shouldn't be forced to deal with this.

But she wanted him to. She wanted him to deal with her problems, to solve them with a wave of his perfect hand. Lexie always thought Mark was amazing, she respected him for his talents as a surgeon and his demeanour as a man. He was amazing, so why couldn't he help her? It was her. It was her that wasn't amazing. She knew that. She was far from perfect and _she_ was the problem, _she_ wasn't letting him help her.

_I want to help you._

He wanted to help her. He could do this, if she let him. It was up to her. He could fix this. He could fix her.

Lexie looked up at Mark and saw his calm, collected expression. There was nothing to be afraid of. He wasn't going to do anything she didn't want him to. He listened, he said no.

_You didn't say no. You never said no._

As quickly as her positive thoughts had arrived, they disappeared and dread filled Lexie at the sound of her own voice.

_You never said no, you let him do this to you. You let him hurt you, you never tried hard enough. _

_You couldn't stop him. If you couldn't stop him, then Mark can't stop him. _

_You're useless. You don't say no. _

_Is it because you liked it? Is it because you enjoyed the feel of him hurting you?_

Lexie slammed her eyes shut, willing the voice to stop shouting in her mind. She didn't like it, she _did_ say no. She would say no and he would ignore her. He never listened. No-one ever listened to her.

Mark frowned when he saw Lexie begin to slowly shake her head and concern flooded through him. It appeared as if she was in pain, a frown in place, her nose scrunched up. Tentatively Mark reached out to rest his hand next to Lexie's leg. He didn't touch her, he knew not to, but his hand was next to her leg, his presence there.

"Lexie..." Mark watched as she began to cry silently. "Hey, Lexie...What's wrong? Lexie...Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Lexie shook her head, her lips sealed. He would hate her, he would feel sick to think she never said no. That she couldn't say no to...She began to cry harder, her shoulders shaking as she brought her knees up to her chest. He would hate her, he would call her names. He wouldn't understand. He couldn't help her.

"Little Grey," Mark whispered, his fingers itching to touch her. "Please. Tell me what's wrong."

Lexie opened her mouth to say something and all she could do was let out a strangled cry. She shook her head and looked at him, her eyes glassy, her lips trembling. "I...I..." Unable to go on, Lexie cried harder and dropped her head to her knees.

"Hey, ssh," Mark said calmly. "I need you to calm down and tell me what's wrong. I need you to calm down, Lexie."

Lexie tried to speak but all that she could do was let out heaves of breath, her throat constricting and tightening. "I..." Lexie let out a sob and then choked, "It hurts."

"It's because you're getting worked up. I need you to calm down and take deep breaths. It'll hurt less then," Mark replied as he threw caution to the wind and placed his hand on her knee. He soothingly rubbed her knee in a circular motion, attempting to calm her down. "Slow down and regulate your breathing, Grey. Just slow down."

Taking deep, unsteady breaths, Lexie looked up to stare at Mark. Even when she was crying her eyes out, he still managed to be amazing. Once her tears had subsided, Lexie noticed that he was still rubbing her knee. On instinct, Lexie jerked her leg away from him. "No," she said, her voice firm. "_No_."

Immediately, Mark placed his hands back into his lap and stared at the wall in front of him. "Okay," he said as he stared at her bathroom door. "I'm sorry."

"You can't do that," Lexie said, her eyes focused on the side of his head. Suddenly, Lexie realized that if they were going to do this, if she was going to let him help her, they needed rules. "I don't want you to...To, er, you know, I just don't think...It's not very appropriate if you...You know, it's just n-not that–"

"Grey, I get it." Mark said tersely. "No touching."

Lexie's cheeks flared and she awkwardly looked to the side. "No touching," she repeated and felt her stomach roll at the thought of the last time she was touched by a man.

Glancing to the side, Mark noticed Lexie's eyes glazing over and his heart clenched. "Hey," Mark said loudly, making Lexie snap out of her daze. He tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Any other rules?"

"Er...I-I..." Lexie stopped and frowned. "I haven't thought that far ahead."

Mark laughed and nodded, abruptly getting off the bed. "That's a good start," he joked as he walked around to the other side of the bed. He looked down at Lexie and could see the wheels in her head turning, trying to calculate his next move. No matter how much he wanted to get into bed with her and comfort her, Mark instead reached down to take hold of the spare pillows next to Lexie. Tucking them under his arm, Mark smiled at her. "I'll see you in the morning, Grey," he said and quickly turned on his heel and headed towards the bedroom door.

When his hand was on the handle, Lexie spoke urgently. "You, hey...what? Where, where are you going?"

Mark sighed and his shoulders fell, defeated. He turned to face her, his face serious. "I'm going to sleep on the couch."

Lexie's eyes widened at the prospect of sleeping alone. "N-no, you can't!"

"Lexie," Mark sighed. "What did we _just_ talk about?" He paused for a moment and when she didn't reply, he narrowed his eyes. "No touching."

"B-But, you can't leave me alone!" Lexie said and desperately scrambled out of the blankets. She stood up from the bed and walked over to him. "You can't just walk out on me!"

"Lexie, I'm not walking out on you," Mark reminded her. He resisted the urge to place his hand on her shoulder and instead gripped the pillow under his arm tighter. "I'm going to sleep on the couch; I'm not leaving the house. I'll be downstairs."

"But–"

"Lexie, please, don't make this any harder for me."

Lexie was about to speak but stopped at the harsh tone of his voice. Make this harder for _him_? What about her? He knew she couldn't sleep in the dark, he should know she didn't want to sleep alone either. "What about me, Mark?" Lexie demanded as she stood in front of him, her hands on her hips. "Do you think it's easy for me to sleep alone?"

Mark sighed and tossed the pillows to the floor. "It will be a lot easier for you to sleep if I'm downstairs."

Lexie laughed, "How do you know that? How can you know that?"

"I just do, Lexie." Mark sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Look, we both need sleep so I'm just going to–"

Lexie snorted in disgust, "You're going to leave." Lexie turned around and stalked back to her bed, and muttered, "Why am I so surprised?"

"What?" Mark stared at her in astonishment as Lexie calmly slipped back under the blankets. "What did you say?"

Lexie looked at Mark, her eyebrow raised. "I said I'm not surprised you want to leave. Go on, leave."

The way she said it, so utterly disgusted and repulsed by his actions, made Mark want to scream. Instead, he gritted out, "I'm going _downstairs_, Grey. I'll be sleeping on a couch that's too small for me because I care enough to respect your wishes of not touching you. I'm not leaving you. I'm respecting your wishes." Mark shook his head when he saw the realization sink into Lexie's expression. "But, hey, what does it matter? You never believe a word I say, anyway."

And with that, Mark turned on his heel and slammed the door behind him. After he left, Lexie continued to stare at the door, expecting him to come back in and stubbornly apologize.

He didn't.

It made her break down in tears.


	23. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews! Again, this is weirdly long for my standards but I hope this is a good chapter because I've gone over it so many times that my head hurts a bit. I don't know what happened to me, but it's a bit fluffy here and there, so I hope people enjoy it because I'm not much on fluff so it won't happen again for a long time! (:

Also, there's a line in here (maybe two, I can't completely remember) that doesn't belong to me, but to the writers of Greys, try and guess which it is (: Anyway, things are picking up again after this chapter, so stay tuned! And as always, please, let me know what you think (:

* * *

He had been staring at the ceiling for a good ten minutes now.

Mark traced a crack on the ceiling with his eyes and once he lost track, he sighed and rolled over on the small couch. If he wasn't so stubborn, he would have gone up and collected the pillows off the floor. If he wasn't so stubborn he would have gone upstairs and apologized to Lexie.

It was too bad he was so stubborn.

It amazed him sometimes how quickly she could switch. One moment everything was fine, she seemed to understand that all he wanted to do was help her, but the next moment...Mark sighed and glared at the wall opposite him. When would this end? When would she finally accept the fact that all he wanted to do was look after her? He was only doing what was best for her, he was _respecting_ her.

For once in his life he was doing the _right_ thing. And she just couldn't see that. It annoyed Mark endlessly but somehow, through all his annoyance, he realized that it was only because she was hurt. She had trust issues, he should know that. Maybe he had to be more understanding, but there was only so much he could take. After all, he was only human.

Growling in annoyance, Mark sat up on the couch. Resting his elbows on his knees, Mark stared at the wall in front of him. It was lined with photographs. From this position, Mark could make out Lexie's grinning face and someone who he could only assume was her mother. They looked alike with their brunette hair and wide grins. His eyes drifted to another photo, this one of Lexie and her parents at her graduation. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of Thatcher's arm wrapped around Lexie's waist. He didn't deserve to be close to her, he wasn't allowed to touch her.

Mark grunted at the anger he felt. He was the reason why Lexie was like this, he was the root of all Mark's current problems. The urge to hurt someone so badly hadn't been so strong until now. As Mark stared at the photograph of Thatcher, Susan and Lexie, he felt like ripping it from the wall. It didn't deserve to hang there, nothing that was linked to Thatcher should be allowed in this house.

Suddenly, Mark frowned as something occurred to him. He hadn't seen Thatcher since that night at the bar. Where was he? For a moment, the thought that he was hurt floated through Mark's mind but then soon came the thought of serves him right. Mark didn't care if he was hurt or drunk somewhere. The longer he stayed away, the better.

Mark sighed as he stood up from the couch. He should apologize to Lexie. He should go upstairs and comfort her, and hopefully forget this ever happened. Turning around, Mark made his way out of the living room and up the stairs. Once he reached Lexie's door, he knocked gently. He waited for a moment and when she didn't call him in, he knocked again and then slowly tried to push the door open. It wouldn't move.

She had locked the door.

Mark sighed, and knocked again. "Lexie?" He called as he leant against the door. "Lex?"

Inside the room, Lexie sat alone in her bed, with all the lights on, including her bathroom light. She stared at the door and continued to chew her bottom lip. Quietly, she asked, "What?"

Mark sighed and gently said, "Let me in, Lexie."

She wanted to. She regretted everything and she wanted to welcome him back into her room but she couldn't do it. At the moment, it felt physically impossible to let him anywhere near her.

"I can't," she called nervously. "I-I can't."

"Why not?"

Lexie shook her head. "You're mad at me," she replied. "You're mad and, and I-I'm sorry."

"Hey, Lex, I'm not mad," Mark replied as he turned to face the door. He placed both his hands on the door. "Come on, open the door."

Lexie thought about it for a moment and wasn't sure what to do. What if he was still angry with her? He could easily be lying to get back into her room. He might be lying and if she let him in...He would hurt her. She just knew it. Cautiously, Lexie called out, "Are you...Are you sure you're not angry?"

"Yes," he said as he silently prayed she'd open the door. He didn't appreciate being locked out on her life. "Does it sound like I'm angry?"

"No..." Lexie frowned at the door and then pushed the blankets off her body. She got out of the bed and slowly walked towards the door. Licking her lips nervously, Lexie gripped the door handle, eyeing the lock at the top of the door. She couldn't help but ask, "Are you going to shout at me?"

"No, Lexie," Mark said. "I'm not going to shout."

"But...But you always shout."

Although he felt a sharp stab through his heart at her remark, Mark gently said, "Not with you."

Lexie continued to stare at the lock as she said, "Promise?"

Mark laughed slightly, "Promise."

Taking a deep breath, Lexie stretched up and dragged out the lock. After a moment, she twisted the door knob and slowly pulled the door open. Mark was standing on the other side, smiling cautiously at her. She looked at him, trying to detect any underlying anger, but when she found nothing but sorry eyes and a warm smile, Lexie sighed in relief. She smiled shyly and said, "I'm sorry I made you angry."

Mark nodded, "I'm sorry I didn't understand. I'm sorry I walked out. Are you okay?"

Lexie nodded and turned, leading him back into her room. They sat down on her bed, both staring at her open bathroom door. A minute passed in silence before Lexie spoke quietly. "I'm afraid of the dark. I sleep with my lamp on, as well as the bathroom light on and the door open."

Mark nodded. "Okay," he said, just as quietly.

"I find it hard to sleep even with the lights on. I-I can't seem to shut down completely. I'm always alert, but the lights...they make me feel better. Safer. With the lights on, I can see better in case..." Lexie cut herself off and shrugged, her eyes focused on the light streaming out from her bathroom door. "Just...don't go near the light switches."

He nodded again and his hand moved closer to hers on the bed. He wanted to place his hand on hers, but knew she would react badly, and so settled for just being near her. "Okay," he said. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Lexie nodded. "I should have told you earlier. It's just..." Lexie sighed and shook her head. "I'm twenty-four. I'm twenty-four and I'm fucking scared of the dark like a five year old."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed of," Mark said. He thought for a moment and then said, "I used to turn on all the TV's when I was alone in the house. I couldn't sleep. I hated being alone."

Lexie looked up at Mark and when he turned to look down at her she saw the vulnerability in his eyes. It was then that Lexie realized that this was something special. Here they were and for so long, Lexie had believed that she was the screwed up one, she was the vulnerable soul, but as she stared at Mark, she realized he was just as scared as her. He could relate to her and for once, Lexie didn't feel so alone.

Gently, Lexie placed her hand over his and squeezed it reassuringly. Slowly, she rested her head on his shoulder, moving closer into his side. "Why were you left alone?" She asked quietly.

"My parents didn't care," he replied stiffly. "They hated me."

"Oh, Mark," Lexie said. She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed his knuckles. "I'm sure they didn't hate you."

"No, they hated me. They forgot they even had a kid." He stopped to shake his head. "It was like I was fucking invisible."

Lexie soothingly rubbed her thumb over his hand, silently encouraging him to talk. "You aren't invisible now," she whispered.

Mark paused and looked down at their intertwined hands. He cracked a small smile. "No," he said as he placed his other hand on top of hers. "Not anymore."

* * *

It took them a while but soon enough, Mark had convinced Lexie to lie back in the bed. He had got under the blankets with her and was now on his side facing her. They weren't touching.

Lexie watched as Mark closed his eyes and the desire to reach out and run her fingers over his cheek was creeping up on her. She wanted to move closer, to hold his body to her own, but something was holding her back. Something would always hold her back whether she liked it or not.

It frustrated her, angered her more than anything, because Lexie knew that she wouldn't be able to get over this. She would always worry, she would always be cautious, she would always be afraid because it had been ingrained into her mind that men would always, _always_ hurt her. After all, it would only be a matter of time before Mark got impatient and would want more from her. And she wouldn't be able to provide him with what he needed, resulting with him, eventually, hurting her.

Lexie knew this but as she stared at Mark, she wondered if he was capable of what her father regularly did to her. Could a man, who looked like an angel when he slept, be able to torture her? Could he punch her? Could he force himself upon her? Lexie narrowed her eyes at Mark, silently calculating to possibilities. It was possible, Lexie knew that, but as she stared at him, Lexie hoped that it wouldn't happen. Although Mark shouted and tortured interns, Lexie couldn't imagine a scenario where he would do the same to her. He was too kind, too gentle to hurt her.

Lexie knew this, but still, she shuffled away from his sleeping body.

As she created more distance between their bodies, Lexie sighed and rolled over. She stared at her half closed bathroom door and felt a calm wash over her at the feel of the light shining out from the door. After a moment, Lexie let her eyes close and tried to force her mind to relax. She waited for it to come, the quiet lull of sleep, however Lexie felt everything. The light shining down on her face, the dip in the mattress next to her, her heartbeat, her shallow breathing. Everything became louder at night, everything was more pronounced when her body was on alert for danger.

Lexie groaned slightly and closed her eyes tighter, the pain it caused doing nothing to calm her. When mattress shifted underneath her, immediately Lexie tensed. After a moment, she heard Mark's rough voice.

"It's hard to sleep when you don't feel safe in your own house, isn't it?"

At first she didn't say anything, opting to keep her eyes closed instead. But as his words filtered into her thoughts, Lexie quietly replied, "I thought it would be easier. With you here."

Mark stared at the back of her head and tried not to reach out and hold her. It was getting more difficult by the second. "But it isn't that easy."

"No..." Lexie clenched her eyes shut tighter as she felt hot tears prick her eyes. "Nothing's ever easy."

There was a pause as Mark fell silent, trying to find the words to reassure her. Lexie let out a shaky breath as she fought back tears. Before Mark could say anything, she spoke. "I thought...I thought that this would be easier. Having you here but not...here _with_ me."

She stopped herself then, trying to find the words to explain herself. Lexie sighed in annoyance and quickly turned over to face Mark. He was watching her intensely and Lexie looked at him determinedly. "I'm still standing by my no touching rule, but God damn it, this is not easy."

Mark stayed silent for a moment, waiting for her to continue, but when she didn't, he spoke quietly. "I know."

At first, Lexie felt disappointed that that was all he said, but then she sighed and continued. "With you here in the house with me...It's supposed to make me feel better. Knowing that you're here...it _does_ help. I-I feel better knowing you're here but...I-I just wish I could..." She broke off then, not ready to say the words. Luckily for her, Mark could.

"I wish I could hold you, too."

Her eyes snapped up to his and even in the dark, his eyes burned bright blue. Lexie smiled shyly at him but as soon as it came, the smile disappeared and she looked down at the space in between them. Refusing to look him in the eye, in case she chickened out at the last moment, Lexie quietly spoke. "I want to be normal. I want to be able to hold your hand, or to hug you, or to just be next to you without this stupid gap. I want to do it. But...I can't and I don't know what's wrong with me."

"There's nothing wrong with you, Lexie," Mark interjected gently.

Lexie laughed dryly. "Something _is_ wrong with me."

"Lexie–"

"I don't want you to be nice," Lexie said forcibly. "I don't want you to try and convince me that nothing's wrong because I'm not stupid. _You're_ not stupid. God, I can't even touch you because I'm too fucking scared."

"There's nothing wrong in being afraid."

His voice was soft but the strength behind his words made Lexie look up at him. Her eyes were wide and she felt the tears rise again. "I don't want to be afraid," she whispered as her bottom lip shook. "I want you to be here _with_ me, not just here." It was becoming increasingly hard to speak as the tears rolled down her cheeks. "I-I want to know what it feels like to be wanted by a man. I want to sleep without...without having to listen out for noises I-I want to feel safe in your arms."

As Mark watched Lexie cry silently, he fought the urge to raise his hand and wait to be called on. Instead he gently asked, "Am I allowed to touch you now, or do I have to wait until you start hyperventilating before I can do anything?"

Lexie laughed through her tears and nodded as she stretched out her arm. Mark smiled and moved closer to her, allowing his arm to wrap over her small waist. Soon enough, Lexie's head was tucked underneath Mark's chin and the pair found relief in each other's arms.

Minutes went past in silence as Lexie's tears subsided and she felt calm under the influence of his warmth. As Lexie's eyes finally floated close, her mind instantly went into overdrive. She had to stay awake, she had to stay alert, she couldn't let herself fall into a trap, into a position of weakness, she had to–

"Stop thinking." Mark's gruff voice interrupted Lexie's thoughts and she opened her eyes to come face to face with his throat. She watched as his Adam's apple bobbed when he spoke again. "I'll be here. Close your eyes and stop worrying. The world isn't going to end; nothing's going to happen if you go to sleep for a while."

She was about to reply but thought against it. She didn't need to appear any more vulnerable to him. Swallowing nervously, Lexie waited a beat before she closed her eyes, the initial darkness increasing her heartbeat. In an attempt to remain calm, she focused on Mark, on his breathing, on the heat that was radiating from him, on the small, circular patterns he was making on the small of her back. It felt...good. Knowing that he was here–really _here_ with her–able to keep her safe and hidden away from any lurking danger – it felt good.

And what felt better was the feeling of happiness that rushed through her when Mark whispered: "I'll be here, Lex. I'm not going anywhere. Close your eyes and I'll still be here."

* * *

The next morning Lexie's eyes drifted open to be greeted by the sight of Mark's neck. She smiled slightly at the thought of him not moving away from her during the course of their sleep. He had stayed, just like he said he would. Sighing happily, she leaned in and placed a small kiss on the base of his neck. When he didn't stir, Lexie repeated the action continuously, taking her time to glide her lips over his skin.

Mark groaned slightly and refused to open his eyes. "Why are you awake?" He murmured as he pulled her closer to him.

Lexie placed her hand on his chest and softly nipped at his skin. "It's time to get up," she replied simply. She kissed him again and then began to pull away from him. She stopped when he groaned in frustration. "Problem, Dr. Sloan?"

He had grumbled something under his breath but Lexie didn't catch it. And so, she smiled triumphantly at him and leaned back in to quickly kiss him on the cheek. She then removed herself from his hold and rolled off the bed, landing gracefully on her two feet. "Come on," Lexie laughed when Mark muttered into the pillow, effectively burying his head. "You're acting as if it's the end of the world."

"It is," he murmured darkly into the pillow. "I need sleep."

"You've had sleep," she replied cheerfully. "Now, it's time to save lives!"

"I don't save lives. I save faces. And boobs. The world can live another day without a plastic surgeon," Mark mumbled, not paying attention to what he was saying. Yawning, he turned on his side and said, "I haven't slept that good in ages. I'm not getting up yet. No-one's going to die if the plastics guy is missing."

"Mark Sloan!" Lexie said sternly, her hands firmly on her hips. "If you think all you do is face lifts and...and _breast_ enlargements then you are wrong, mister! Now, now get out of bed _now_ before I...before I kick you!"

That caused him to snort. "You'll _kick_ me, Grey?"

Lexie nodded defiantly at him, "I'll kick you!"

Slowly, Mark prised his eyes open to look at Lexie. He smirked at her; he always enjoyed it when she was flustered. "Fine," he drawled. "I'll get up." Mark glanced at the alarm clock and took note that he had half an hour to get to the hospital. Whether he liked it or not, he had post-ops to tend to. That thought didn't stop his teasing however.

Mark grinned up at Lexie and stretched out an arm. "Quickie?"

Lexie narrowed her eyes at him. "Seriously? You're _really_ going to go there?"

Mark laughed as he got up from his position so that he could sit on the bed, facing Lexie. His grin resembled one of a mischievous boy as he replied, "Thought I'd try."

Lexie rolled her eyes and laughed. "Shut up," she said before turning around and walked to her closet. Pulling it open, she grabbed her Harvard jersey and slipped it over her tank top. When she turned back to face Mark, she rolled her eyes again at the predatory look on his face. "Up. _Now_."

Mark sighed dramatically. "Slave driver."

Lexie laughed and shook her head. "Hey, I have the day off today so really, I should be complaining about getting up, _not_ you."

"If you have the day off, then why are you up so early?" Mark questioned as he got off the bed and walked over to her. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled when she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Because," she drawled out, "I want to get ahead of things. I have studying to do, plus there's laundry to do as well as some bills that need to be taken care of and, oh!" Lexie's eyes widened as she remembered. "I have to go grocery shopping...Maybe I'll write a list."

Mark frowned at her. "You're doing this, all of _this_, on your day _off_?"

Lexie looked up at him as if he had grown another two heads. "When else would I do it?"

Although it annoyed him, she had a good point. "You're meant to rest on your day off," he reminded her; however the reminder was falling on deaf ears. As Mark watched her, he knew she was thinking more about her list than listening to him. He sighed heavily and placed a kiss on her forehead. "You amaze me sometimes, Grey."

Snapping out of her daze, Lexie looked up at him, confused. "Only sometimes?" She asked teasingly.

"Fine," he relented. "All the time. You blow my mind. There."

Lexie laughed and stretched up to softly kiss him. When she dropped back down and twirled away from him, she replied, "That's more like it!"

Mark shook his head slightly and scratched the back of his head. He watched as Lexie walked over to her bedroom door with a spring in her step. He moved in the opposite direction to retrieve his belongings from her desk chair and when he turned back, she had already left the room. He smiled slightly and followed in her steps, however his steps certainly had less spring in them.

* * *

While they had breakfast, Mark complained about having to go to work without her, and Lexie frantically scribbled down the list of things she had to do. It was obvious she was only half-listening to him but it didn't annoy Mark as much as he thought it would. As they stayed together longer than they should have, Mark found himself rushing out of her house; however he made sure to stop and kiss her before he left.

"I'll see you after work."

It was more of a statement than a question and Lexie smiled against his lips. "Okay," she murmured as she kissed him again, tightening her arms around his neck. "I'll see you then..."

"Okay," Mark said as he kissed her again. "I'm going."

Lexie nodded slightly as she slipped her tongue back into his mouth. She smirked when Mark groaned and tightened his grip on her hips. She pulled back slightly and whispered, "Go then."

"I am going," he said forcibly as he drew her into another kiss. He kissed her briefly and then took a step back from her. "Okay," he said sternly. "Going."

Lexie's lips curved into a small smile and she waved slightly. "Bye, then."

Mark groaned slightly as he took in the sight of Lexie standing bare foot in front of him, looking pure and innocent with ruffled hair. Suddenly, he wished he could see her like this every day. The thought left his mind as quickly as it had arrived and Mark let out a short breath. "Okay." He nodded his head, "I'll see you tonight."

Lexie nodded her head also, mirroring his professional air. "Okay, I'll see you then, Dr. Sloan."

Mark's lips twisted into a genuine smile. "Smartass," he muttered before turning and opening the door and leaving.

Lexie stood in the hallway for a moment, smiling after him, before she sighed and walked back into the living room. She looked around at the empty room and wondered what to do now. After a moment, she decided it would be best to get ready and then start on her list. Turning swiftly on her heel, Lexie made her way back to her bedroom.

It didn't take her long to get washed and changed and as Lexie walked out of her bathroom, she heard a knock on the door. Frowning, she glanced to her alarm clock, and immediately wondered why anyone would be at her house at eight in the morning. When there was no second knock, Lexie shrugged, putting the noise down to a salesman or someone similar.

Moving over to her CD player, Lexie hooked up her iPod to the device and sorted through her songs. Unable to decide on a song, she hit the Shuffle button and smiled when the rough voice of Eric Clapton graced her ears. Her smile widened into a grin when she recognized the lyrics to 'Wonderful Tonight.'

With the music loud, Lexie moved to the small basket of laundry that sat in the corner of her room. She dumped the contents onto her bed and began to hum along absentmindedly. As she worked, she didn't hear someone knock on the door again. As the track skipped to an upbeat Maroon 5 song, Lexie was unaware that a set of keys were slowly opening the front door. As Lexie began singing along, her voice loud and off-key, she wasn't able to recognize the thumping on the stairs, or the muttered curses.

It was only when her bedroom door slammed open that Lexie jumped and whirled around.

Thatcher.

It took her a moment to react. First, there was her increased heartbeat, the lump of muscle accelerating at the presence of danger. Then her breathing increased as she felt her chest shake. Following this was a dry throat, dilated pupils, tense muscles.

And then, in the careful sequence, came the realization that her father was standing in front of her.

In her room.

"Get out."

Each word was punctuated with hate, rage, unsteadiness. Lexie watched as he stared at her, his face dark, shadowed. This time, unlike all their previous encounters, she couldn't tell what he was thinking. Before, she would be able to see the anger smeared on his face or the confusion and uncertainty in his light eyes. Now however, everything was absent. Sound, emotion, soul. She was staring into an empty vessel, eyes cold and hard.

Powered by the rush of energy, the need to get out of the room, Lexie spoke again, her voice strong. "Get out of my room."

Eyes narrowed, lips licked slowly, Thatcher turned around to stare at her door. Then, before Lexie could register what was happened, he locked the door.

"No."


	24. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews (: Now, I got some feedback on the last chapter and not all of it was positive. I'm not complaining because really, not everyone likes the same things I do. I know I hate Twilight and there are a lot of people who love it. I don't particularly care if someone dislikes my work. However, with that being said, there was one person who I believe took the term 'hating' way too far. Now, since they didn't leave me anyway in contacting them to reply, I'll reply at the end of the chapter because I don't want to clog up space now. I also want to say sorry if this chapter sucks. I've been a bit out of it lately what with all the other work I'm doing, so sorry if I didn't pick up on any mistakes.

Oh, before I forget! I'd like to say thanks for all the support I got after that silly, mean review! This chapter is dedicated to **tivo**, **Greys has become my life**, and to the lovely **Erin** (: Thanks for the kind words, the support, and the inspiration to continue kicking ass! (; Enjoy the next chapter and let me know what you think! (:

* * *

She could feel everything.

Her heart racing, squeezing and thumping hard against the confines of her chest, her throat constricting with emotion, strangling her until she couldn't breathe. Her muscles tensing, spine straightening, pupils dilating. She could feel panic clawing its way over her mind, taking over. She could feel anger rising slowly under everything else. And she felt the fear of not having an escape, the knowledge of confinement, holding her down, making her body seem heavier than it really is.

Neither of them moved, both watching, waiting for the other to jerk, to run, to pounce, to start their endless routine. Their eyes tracked over the opposite body, taking in the details, noticing the subtle changes from the last time they had seen each other. He had more stubble, she was paler. His eyes were unfocused and distant, her eyes were wide with fear–in her case, not much had changed.

Nothing happened at first. They were too mesmerized; too entranced by the hold they had on each other.

But then, as with everything else in their life, the spell broke.

"Get out," Lexie gritted out as she clenched her hands in fists at her sides. She had found her voice first, and Lexie knew that it gave her the advantage. She spoke first and so, she had the upper hand. "Get out of my room. Now."

His frown appeared immediately. "Why would I do that?" He asked, his words slurred and wavering in pitch.

She could feel the anger rising, the raw, naked urge to lash out. She wanted to run, she could feel the rush of adrenalin surging through her veins, and yet she stood still – the thought of moving and provoking a reaction from him too daunting. And so Lexie stood, fists ready, stance solid, eyes flaring. When she spoke, her voice was like ice – a vast difference to the fire she felt. "Because," she said coldly. "I told you to get out."

It made him laugh. It was loud and uncontrolled, as if it came from somewhere deep inside of him. Thatcher shook his head. "And because you said it, I'd do it? You…You really think I'd do something because you told me to?"

Although she swallowed nervously, her eyes were like steel as she replied, "Yes."

He laughed again and this time, Lexie saw the trembling in his hands and shoulders. She tensed as he staggered forward and then stopped, turning on his heel to walk over to her CD player. With heavy, clumsy fingers, he pressed all the buttons, waiting for the music to stop. When it did, Lexie could hear her own heavy breathing, the subtle thumping of her own heart.

"I…" Thatcher started as he ran his hand over the CD player. "I don't listen to women like _you_." He paused then and turned around, effectively resting his back against the desk. He narrowed his eyes at her and Lexie felt fists clench tighter. "I don't pay attention to filth like you because you aren't important. You aren't smart. I don't care what you have to say because you aren't important. You're not important. I don't care about what you have to say."

Lexie nodded slowly, her mind working quickly to come up with a solution. "Okay…"

Before she had a chance to think of something else to say, Thatcher spoke, his voice loud and overpowering. "You think because you're a _doctor_ you can say anything to me and I'll listen to you. I won't listen to you. I refuse to listen to scum like you."

If he refused to listen to her, how was she going to get out of this situation? "Okay," she said calmly. "You don't have to listen to me–"

"I'm not going to!" Thatcher shouted firmly, the fire back in his eyes.

"But that won't stop me from speaking," Lexie said, her voice eerily quiet. "I'm not going to stop talking. You can stop listening to me but I won't stop talking."

It took him a moment to register what she was saying, but then Thatcher growled and pushed himself forward. He was pointing at her now, his finger shaking slightly as he tried to gain control. She wasn't allowed to have the control. "You're not allowed to speak," he spat as his lips snarled upwards. "I don't want you to talk to me!"

Her fingernails were beginning to make their marks in her skin, but Lexie kept her fists clenched, her stance projecting the image that she was ready to fight – a stark contrast to the voice she used. Her voice was quiet, calm, void from any anger or panic. She refused to alert him to the emotions he summoned in her. And so, Lexie remained calm although she was silently preparing herself for the fight that was to come.

"I don't care if you don't want to listen to me, and I don't care if you don't want me to talk to you," Lexie replied evenly. "You're not getting what you want this time."

She had done it.

Now, it seemed so simple.

Although there was nothing to alert the outside world to her achievement, Lexie felt something shift between them. His eyes had flickered with something–Lexie is sure it's shock–and her heart swelled with the knowledge that she had stood up for herself. Though she was fighting off the need to collapse because of the fear that was still inside her, Lexie had fought everything inside her and kept calm. As a result she had said something she had always dreamed of.

He isn't going to win. Not this time.

His response wasn't immediate. It took him a while to get over the initial shock, took a while for his hazy mind to process what she had said to him. But then, Lexie saw the moment when he found an answer. His jaw set and his eyes hardened. His body pushed forward, and Lexie instinctively took a step back. He wasn't getting her this time. He tried again and Lexie repeated her actions.

"Lexie!" Thatcher boomed as he suddenly lunged forward. He was too slow. She slipped out of his grips to run into the bathroom. "Lexie!" Thatcher called again and when he heard the lock sliding shut, he began slamming his fists on the bathroom door. "Lexie, you bitch! Open the door now!"

Although her chest was tight and it felt as if her heart was in her throat, Lexie felt the sense of triumph rush over her. "No," she shouted, her voice loud and unwavering. "No!"

He banged his hand against the door again. "Lexie!" He repeated the motion again and again until his hand was sore. He refused to give up until he got her out of the room. "Lexie. Get out of there now. Open this door or I'll, I'll crash it down!"

Lexie shook her head and backed away from the door to go and sit on the edge of the bathtub. "I won't listen to you," she called, repeating his words from earlier. "I don't care what you have to say because you aren't important." Lexie shook her head again and felt sudden laughter bubble out from her. She felt so liberated from being able to say anything to him without getting a slap for it. She grinned and then spat out, "I refuse to listen to scum like _you_."

She knew it angered him when she heard a loud crash. Faintly aware of it, Lexie thought he might have thrown something large at the door. It was only when the sound occurred again that Lexie began to frown. What could he possibly get his hands on? Her mind scanned through the items that she had in her bedroom. Her desk chair perhaps? As the sounds persisted, the thought that he could break down the door dawned on Lexie. She immediately narrowed her eyes and then looked around the bathroom. Her eyes suddenly fell on her razor. If she slammed it hard enough against the counter, the blade would break free from the plastic and she would be able to use it. But only if she needed to. And really, how sharp was it? Lexie rolled her eyes at her own contradicting thoughts when it came to her father. If it came down to it, if he was ready to hurt her, Lexie decided she would need to defend herself. She had given in too many times before. If her hand fell on the razor blade, she would use it to defend herself. Lexie was nearly convinced.

"Lexie!" Thatcher's booming voice distracted Lexie from her thoughts. "Come out now!"

Lexie rolled her eyes in frustration before shouting, "You can't make me! Just go away!"

"You fucking bitch," he shouted as he slammed his hand against the wood. His motions were becoming more frantic as his voice raised to a scream. "When I come in there–"

"I won't let you in!"

"When I come in there, I'm going to kill you!"

It should have fazed her, the sound of his scream should have been enough to make anyone shake with fear, but Lexie remained calm. The only sign that showed her fear was the fact her grip on the edge of the bathtub had caused her knuckles to turn white, a foreign pain shooting through her hands. But she wouldn't show her fear. She was afraid and she was worried but she wouldn't let him know that. He can't hurt her. Not anymore.

"I won't let you," Lexie called back. "You can't touch me."

His fist connected with the door again. And again. And again. Lexie began to count the hits. _One, two, three, four, five._ She wondered how long it would take before he began to bruise. _Six, seven, eight, nine._ Was he bleeding yet? _Ten. Eleven._ Would he crack the wood? _Twelve._ Would he get splinters? _Thirteen. Fourteen._ If he continued to do this, he would break the door. _Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen. _Lexie dimly registered the fact it would be a lot of hassle to go shopping for another door.

_Eighteen._

_Nineteen._

"God damn it!"

Before she could get to twenty, Lexie's head snapped up at the sound of Thatcher groaning in pain. She had to bite her tongue from calling out to see if he was okay. He must have caused a dent in the wood, he was probably bleeding.

"This is your fault! This is your fault, Lexie!" Thatcher spat as he wiped the blood off his knuckles. "And I can't get to the plasters because you won't open the door! What kind of daughter are you?" He shook his head in disgust. "You're useless."

Lexie waited for more insults but was instead greeted by the sound of a door slamming shut. She wasn't able to hear it, but she was sure he had locked her bedroom door on his way out. She was stuck.

_Great._

* * *

Mark glanced down at his cell phone again. He had been contemplating calling Lexie for the last ten minutes but had yet to press the dial button. He sighed again and slammed the phone down onto the cafeteria table.

Callie raised her eyebrow as she watched Mark glare at his uneaten sandwich. "You gonna eat that?" She asked and when he didn't reply, Callie rolled her eyes. "Would you just call her already?"

Mark grunted. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really?" Callie drawled before kicking Mark under the table. "Call her."

Although his head remained down, Mark's eyes looked up to narrow at Callie. "The kick wasn't necessary." He looked back down at his food. "I want to call her…"

"Then call her."

"It's her day off," he replied as if it explained everything.

Sadly, it didn't and only caused Callie to frown in confusion. "And that's going to stop you from calling her? Seriously?"

Mark groaned in annoyance. "I said I'd see her tonight. I shouldn't be phoning her now to…"

"To what?" Callie asked but when it dawned on her, she nearly laughed at the hilarity of the whole situation. "You don't want it to seem as if you're checking up on her?"

The only response she got was a reluctant grunt from Mark.

Callie shook her head. "Oh Mark," she smiled. "You really do like her, don't you?"

"Is that so surprising?" Mark asked as he pushed his food tray away from him.

"No, not really. Actually, yes. Yes, it is." Callie laughed and then teased, "Do you just want to hear the sound of her voice?"

Mark looked at her, deadpanned. "Don't you have another dirty bathroom to go kiss in?"

"Ha-ha," Callie replied, rolling her eyes at the joke. "Very funny. Stop avoiding the subject."

"There's no subject _to_ avoid."

"Yes, there is!" Callie leant over and gently smacked Mark on the shoulder. "You and Lexie! I'm assuming it's serious now?"

Mark thought about it for a moment, although it wasn't needed as immediately he knew the answer was a solid yes. But he wasn't prepared to admit that to Callie. Or even Lexie. "No, we aren't serious."

"Then why the need to call her?"

"I have to tell her something," Mark replied defensively.

"No you don't. You just want to see if she's okay." Callie's eyes glittered mischievously. "You just want to see if she's thinking about you."

Mark snorted. "Oh please. Don't compare me to your own thoughts about a certain Peds–"

"Mark!" Callie interrupted. "This is about _you_ and _your_ feelings for someone who I can only assume is _your_ girlfriend."

The use of the 'G' word made both of them pause and look up at each other. Was Lexie Mark's girlfriend? Mark knew they hadn't discussed it, but there was hardly any time lately to think about trivial things such as what to call each other. They've been preoccupied with _other_ things, after all.

Not having a response, Mark shrugged and replied, "I'm just bored. That's why I want to phone her."

Callie looked down briefly, knowing that she had hit a cord inside of Mark by referring to Lexie as his girlfriend. So instead of discussing their relationship, Callie focused on the fact Mark hadn't actually dialed Lexie's number yet. "You haven't actually called her yet," Callie reminded him. She rolled her eyes when he began to glare at his cell. "Give me that thing," she muttered before grabbing the small phone off the table.

"Hey!" Mark shouted but wasn't able to grab the phone back as Callie had already dialed Lexie's number and now had the cell to her ear.

There was a moment of silence between the two friends as Mark watched Callie wait and then frown. "What is it?" He asked, only to be shushed by Callie.

"Damn it," she muttered, pulling the phone away from her ear. "Someone cut it off."

Instantly, Mark frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Callie said as she dropped the cell back onto the table. "I dialed; the phone rang but was cut off half way through the dialing tone. Lexie cut the call."

He should have felt panic, it should have alerted him to the fact something was wrong, but instead Mark felt angry. She had hung up on him. Why didn't she want to talk to him? He had been sitting here, worrying about her, wanting to know if she was alright, craving her voice, and as soon as he phoned, she hung up on him. She didn't think he was worth talking to. Instead of worrying about what was wrong with Lexie, Mark felt himself slowly regressing back to his old self. If she had better things to do than talk to him, then so did he. He shouldn't be wasting his time pining or thinking about her.

Still annoyed, Mark picked up his phone and stuffed it back into his pocket. He wouldn't phone her again.

* * *

"Piece of junk," he muttered darkly as he carelessly threw the cell into the small trash can.

He didn't need any more distraction. He had to focus on getting his daughter out of the bathroom, so the last thing Thatcher needed was for her cell to ring again.

Thatcher stared at the wooden door, his eyes narrowing at the dent in the wood, the imprint of his fist. He could use that to his advantage.

He would get her out of there. Whether she liked it or not.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry! I promise guys, give me roughly one or two more chapters of angst and then we're running to the happy ending finish line! Right, now I have just a few things to say to a review I got so, feel free to ignore this. I know they probably aren't even reading this and so this makes me look slightly crazy, but I just *really* need to get this off my chest. I'm one those people that if they don't say their piece, they'll go crazy inside. So:

Right. Liberty27, here is what I think. First of all, harsh words, mate. If you don't like my story, just stop reading and let it go. I'm sorry if I offended you in any way because that's the last thing I want to do. I know the topic I'm writing about is hard to deal with, but for you to disrespect the way I'm writing Lexie's reactions? I think it's out of line because honestly, I think the way I'm portraying her is realistic. I _know_ it's realistic because that's the way I reacted. I never wanted to publically explain where I got my inspiration from, but if it will gain me just a little bit of understanding or respect, then I'm going to say it. I write from experience, always. Work it out. I can take someone slagging off my literary technique, or just my ability as a writer, because to me that's classified as constructive criticism and I'm doing this to better myself so I can take that. But to criticise the emotions and the actions, just because you think it's disgusting? It's just not cool. I know abuse is disgusting and I know it's tough, but it is realistic. I'm not jumping straight to that perfect ending because nothing is that easy, and I don't think it should be easy just because this is fiction.

For those who do like my story, and are reading this, there _will_ be a happy ending – there's no doubt about that. I'm a firm believer in happy endings, but I like the drama, the angst and the suspense. It's what I'm good at, so I'm going to drag it out so that when everything is resolved, it just feels so much better. We haven't got long to go, I'm hoping this reaches 30 chapters and an epilogue, so just hang in there. After all, there will be a hero saving the day (;

But anyway, that was me getting off the point. Back to my point: I have placed a warning on my summary and I'm sincerely sorry that I didn't think to do that at the start. I'm sorry if you hate my work, I'm sorry I couldn't please everyone, but it annoys me that you're so untactful with your opinions. But anyway, so you hate my work, big deal. I just wished you could have said it without being so vile (:

Sorry for this being so long! I don't want anyone's eyes to bleed or anything from staring at the screen for so long! (;


	25. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N: **I'd like to start off by saying I am _so_ sorry for the delayed update! I've had a lot on, and this was hard for me to write. Though it took me a while, originally this was ready about a week ago; however I just haven't had a moment to sit down long enough to post this. Anyway, thank you for all the reviews and support and here's the next chapter! It's a bit short, I know, but this is just a lead-up. It's a bit darker than usual, but the rating shouldn't be affected by it. I've already started the next chapter, so there may be another post later on tonight if I get the chance (: As always, let me know what you think! (:

* * *

It began slowly. First, there was the faint tinkling noise; it reminded Lexie of Christmas bells. The noise continued for a while, and Lexie wondered what it was. It sounded like metal against metal, light tapping, and…Bells. Lexie heard the soft jingling of bells but as she concentrated on the noise, she knew she was going crazy. There was a sudden scraping noise and it sounded as if it was coming from some type of tool. There were no bells, Lexie was just going crazy.

Soon enough the noise stopped and it was followed by nothing. Now, all she could hear in the long period that followed was the sound of her heartbeat and heavy breathing. Nothing happened and Lexie looked at the bathroom door nervously. What was he doing? What was going through his mind? No. She didn't want to think about it, the thoughts that usually went through his mind would frighten her, disgust her. It wasn't safe to try to get into the mind of an abuser.

The silence continued and gradually, Lexie found herself relax. He had left, probably to find another tool. Lexie's eyes drifted to the side, narrowing at the razor sitting beside the sink. He would get in here, eventually. It was only a matter of time and when he did, she needed to be prepared. Ready. She wasn't prepared to lose this time.

He wouldn't hurt her.

He would not win.

Lexie let out a breath and stood from her seat on the edge of the bathtub. Her sore muscles stretched and she tried not to flinch as she slowly made her way over to the sink. The light glinted off the metal and it made Lexie pause. Would she do this? When it came down to it, when the moment presented itself to her–with Thatcher in the room with her, prone and dangerous–would she really hurt him? Would she lash out and cut him? Would she watch the blood trail down his face and not react, stand there and watch him bleed without trying to save him?

She was a doctor. She saved lives, how could she purposely inflict pain on someone?

As the sight of the metal kept her fixated, Lexie didn't catch the noise of hammering on the wood, until the noise become louder. Her head turned to look at the bathroom door and as the pounding became louder, Lexie grabbed her razor, her grip on the small object turning her knuckles white. Her heart leaped into her throat and Lexie flinched at every bang on the door. It was as if her mind was in a trance as she stared at the door but soon she snapped out of it, a loud bang–louder than all the rest–causing her to yelp and turn away from the door.

With her chest heaving, Lexie stared at her image in the mirror. Pale face, red eyes, haunted with fear. Lexie looked away, her eyes going back to the razor blade. Suddenly, she began slamming the razor down on the countertop, her thoughts willing the blade to break free. The noise inside the bathroom was nearly as loud as the noise coming from the other side of the door, and briefly Lexie wondered if Thatcher had figured out what she was doing. The thought drifted into her mind and then was quickly eliminated when the silver metal bounced away from the orange plastic.

Lexie's fingers dropped the razor and scrambled to touch the blade. The metal was cool against her fingers and it made Lexie pause. Smooth, cold, _dangerous_. Could she really use this to get away from Thatcher? Could this save her? Would this make her a criminal? She couldn't hurt someone, it wasn't allowed, it was against the rules. But did the rules stay the same when someone was threatening your safety? Your life?

The sound of wood hitting the cold tiles stopped Lexie's thoughts. Her blood ran cold as she slowly turned her face to see him. His nostrils flared as he took a step closer, the hammer he had used to crack the lock dangling from his hand.

"Lexie..." He said, his voice gruff and solid. His eyes burned violently as he snarled at her. "Why would you want to run from me?"

This was the moment.

Their showdown.

The end.

Lexie knew this was the part where she was supposed to do something. _Anything_. She was supposed to shout at him, tell him that he couldn't control her. She needed to tell him that she was stronger than he thought and that she would fight back. She would try and save herself.

This was the moment where she would stand up straight, her shoulders back, her head high, and she would push past him – she would stand up for herself. She would fight. She would _not_ go down without a fight.

The moment had arrived. It had taken them an eternity, but here it was. He was standing before her, his legs apart, his stance solid. Lexie knew he was sober; his eyes were red however there was a distinctive strength behind his words and being. No wavering. No slurring. He was sober and if Lexie didn't make her way out now, he was going to hurt her.

Carefully, Lexie wrapped her hand around the small blade in her hand and brought her arm down against her side. Her face matched Thatcher's stoic expression and although it took her a moment to regain her voice, Lexie soon spoke calmly, despite the feeling of the blade slowly slipping deeper into the skin of her palm.

"I'm not running from you," Lexie told him. Her eyes were cold as she continued. "I want to run from you, but I'm not. I'm here, aren't I? I'm not going anywhere."

Her response caused Thatcher to pause, his eyes narrowing at her slightly. His eyes suddenly fluttered to her clenched hand. A small smirk formed on his cracked lips. "Getting ready to punch me, princess?"

_Princess._

A simple word that immediately took her back to her childhood. He would call her princess when he tucked her in at night. He would call her princess when he congratulated or when he comforted her. Now, the word meant nothing. It didn't show his love for her, it wasn't a word of affection – no, it was said mockingly. It reminded her of _him_ and his disgusting actions.

Lexie's spine straightened as she pushed her shoulders back. "Unlike you, I don't resort to violence."

Although it didn't show on her face, Lexie felt pride swell inside of her. She hadn't stuttered, she hadn't shown her fear – she could do this. Her toes curled against the tiled surface of her bathroom and Lexie glanced at the hammer Thatcher was holding. Instantly her mind scanned each little detail. The dull metal, the pale golden brown wood, the grooves in the wood, his thick fingers wrapped around the mid-section of the hammer – each detail jumped out to Lexie. This object, after all, would be burned into her memory for years to come.

Slowly, Lexie tore her sight away from the hammer and looked at Thatcher, her eyes remaining steady on his. Briefly she considered talking but then halted when she saw his jaw twitch. It was discreet, if she had blinked she would have missed it, but Lexie didn't and she knew what it meant. Subtle movements like a twitch or an eye flutter, they all totalled up, each movement gave something away. Lexie knew how to read him; it was how she prepared herself. A jaw twitch meant he was thinking, usually carefully, over what to do next. Sometimes he would act irrationally, spontaneously, but other times–like now–he would take the time to concoct a plan.

That was when he was most dangerous.

The low rumble of his voice made Lexie clench her fist, and although the pressure was still light, the blade in her hand cut her deeper and she winced at the feel of her own blood pooling around the cut. She needed to get rid of the blade. Somehow.

"I'm violent?" Thatcher said, his words stressed and mocking. "_I'm_ violent?" His coarse voice suddenly got louder, his shout echoing in the small bathroom. "I'm _violent_?" His manic laugh made Lexie wince. "I'm not violent. This..._That_ was nothing. That wasn't _violence_. You wanna know what _real_ violence feels like, princess? Huh, you wanna know?"

Lexie's eyes fluttered slightly as she replied, "No."

He laughed again, louder than the last time. He brought his hand up, the hammer now pointing at Lexie. "Oh come on. You're _dying_ to know. If you think I'm violent now...You're such a stupid little girl. Stupid, stupid, stupid."

The hammer dangerously waved at Lexie, the head nodding at her face. She tried to keep her eyes fixed on Thatcher's face but she couldn't help avert her sight to the tool in front of her. He wouldn't use it. He wouldn't do it. She knew he wouldn't. _He couldn't._

Even as Thatcher stepped closer to Lexie, she didn't move away. She was fixed in place, staring at the metal head. _He couldn't. He isn't going to do it._ It was getting closer, still waving to each side in front of her, but it was gaining on her.

Coming closer.

And closer.

And closer.

Before she knew what was happening, Lexie felt herself duck. There was a noise, a whoosh of air, and a loud shout. It was as if Lexie had no control over her body. _Instinct_. It felt as if she wasn't responsible for her own actions. She was watching. She was only a spectator.

One moment she was crouched on the floor, the razor in her hand changing position – slipping into her skin, causing her to let out a curse. Then, the next moment, before she had the chance to register what was happening, her outstretched arm came into contact with Thatcher's knees and she was pushing forward. She felt him stumble against her arm and Lexie felt herself stand up further on her unsteady legs. She felt the pressure being removed from her arm and she looked back to see Thatcher on his hands and knees on the floor, the hammer out of his grip.

It was then that Lexie snapped into focus.

She stood up straight and unclenched her hand. The blood was fresh and red against her pale skin. Without much thought, Lexie dropped the blade to the floor and ran forward, her aim being the hammer on the floor. As she made her way to the object, Lexie purposely stepped on Thatcher's hand. His shout made her jump and quicken her actions. Grabbing the hammer, Lexie turned on her heel and ran towards the door.

"Bitch!" She heard Thatcher shout as she made her way out of the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. "Lexie!" With her back against the door, Lexie tried to regain her breath. She looked down at the hammer limp in her hand and saw the blood splattered along the wooden handle.

In the distance, she heard Thatcher panting and she assumed he was struggling to get up from his knees. The lock. Lexie's eyes widened as she realized there was no outside lock on her bathroom door. At any moment he would be pushing the door and she would be thrown out of the way. He was going to get her. He was going to hurt her. Kill her.

Frantically, Lexie's eyes scanned the room. Her desk chair. Her desk. Running towards the wooden desk, Lexie dropped the hammer onto her bed and wiped her bloody hand against the leg of her pants. Somehow, she found the strength to pull the desk towards her. Looking back at the door, Lexie struggled as she tried to pull the desk with her small hands. Her open wound screamed as it contacted with the sharp edge of the desk.

Grunting, Lexie silently begged for this to work. When the desk hadn't moved as far as she wanted, Lexie quickly gave up and rushed over to the chair. Dragging it to the door, Lexie pushed it up underneath the doorknob. Then, after hearing Thatcher calling her name, Lexie spotted the small cabinet that sat next to her bed. Lifting it up, Lexie firmly placed it against the bathroom door, next to the chair.

Stepping back, Lexie stared at the door, her eyes wide with nerves and shock. At the back of her mind, she heard a voice telling her it wouldn't work. He would find a way to get out. He would find another way to hurt her. As she stared at the door, she felt the slow trickle of her own blood slipping down her palm. The image of the razor blade fluttered into her mind and Lexie wondered if he knew it was lying on the bathroom floor. She wondered if he would notice and pick it up. If he would use it against her.

She would be defenceless to the piece of metal.

Hammer.

Lexie quickly turned around to see the forgotten hammer lying on her bed. The bright red handle blinded her and quickly Lexie moved to get it. Her back was turned as she picked up the heavy tool, using both hands to lighten the pressure on her injured hand.

"Lexie!"

Lexie screamed as she heard her name and she spun around expecting to see her father standing in the doorway, the pieces of furniture discarded on the side. He wasn't there. In fact, he was shouting at her from his position inside the bathroom. He just sounded closer than he really was.

"Lexie!" He screamed, his fists pounding against the wood. "Let me out!"

"No!" Lexie shouted back, her grip tightening on the hammer. She brought it up against her chest and stared at the door. "You can't do this. Y-You won't win. I won't let you!"

The doorknob twisted and Lexie watched as Thatcher tried to push the door open but couldn't. He banged against the wood again. "Lexie! You can't do this to me! I'm your father. Let me in now!"

Before she could stop herself, the words sprouted out of her mouth. "Fuck off! I'm not letting you anywhere near me you sick bastard! You're not allowed to do this. I won't let you hurt me. I won't let you win. You can't do this to me! I'm better than you, I'm stronger than you. If you come out here, I'll hurt you, I swear to God I'll hurt you! So, so just shut up! Stop talking, stop trying to hurt me, just stop it you, you bastard!"

The noise of him turning the handle and pushing against the door increased and Lexie took a step back, her hands shaking. "Stop it!" She shouted as she saw the cabinet move slightly, the door cracking open. "Stop it or I'll hurt you. I'll hurt you!"

The cabinet moved closer to her, further away from the wooden door. She could see the white tiles. The chair was wobbling. The sound of him grunting. The sound getting louder and louder as he repeatedly slammed his shoulders against the door.

Suddenly, fear gripped Lexie and she began screaming. "Stop it! Stop it, stop it, stop it! Please, just stop this! If you come in here I'll kill you! I swear to God I'll kill you!"

It was then that the door burst open.

The chair fell away, the cabinet pushed to one side, Thatcher standing in the door way, his chest heaving, his eyes gleaming.

His eyes narrowed at the hammer in her shaking grip and he cracked a smile. "You'll kill me, will you?" He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Suddenly, his eyes snapped to Lexie's and his smile widened as he whispered, "I'd like to see you try."


	26. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N: **Yes, I am still alive. Surprising right? I know it's been exactly three months (eek, that's a long time) since I've updated but I've had a few things to deal with lately and got distracted from this story, but it's suddenly resurfaced and I'm on top of things again. I suggest people re-read the last two chapters to refresh your memory, sorry about that. We are so close to the end and so I really hope people stick with this since I have a plan! Sorry this is a bit short but it was originally _really_ long so I just decided to cut it into two chapters. Don't worry, you should feel better once you read the end of this chapter :D

Just a warning, this chapter does contain violence but I think it doesn't go higher than a T (maybe a high T but that's it, though I was never good at ratings). Anyway, enjoy the next chapter and please, let me know what you think! (:

* * *

Lexie's eyes widened and Thatcher moved closer, his smile twisting into a snarl. "Come on, Lexie," he said, keeping his voice low. "Kill me. I dare you. _Try_."

"Y-You don't believe me?" Lexie asked as she flexed her fingers against the wooden handle of the hammer. "You don't think I can hurt you like how you hurt me?"

Thatcher laughed as he shook his head at her. "You're weak," he spat. "You're weak and pathetic. You can't do it. You don't know anything."

Lexie's eyes flashed as she raised an eyebrow. "Don't I?"

"You think you're better than me. You think you're the strong one. You have this image in your head of being capable, but no." He stopped and shook his head. "It's a lie, Lexie. You know what it is? It's a lie. You can't do this. You, you can't hurt _me_. You can't do anything. You're lying to yourself, Lexie."

Lexie swallowed nervously and then spoke, forcing herself to keep her voice level. "I'm not the one who's lying to themselves. I am strong and I am more than capable." She swallowed nervously before stating, "If I have to, I _will_ hurt you."

She watched as something flicked behind his eyes, something registered in his mind, but then the light was gone and his eyes became stone again. Lexie kept her eyes steady on his as she added, "I will hurt you. If you…If I have to then…I-I need you to know that. I will hurt you if it comes down to it."

This time, Thatcher's laugh didn't cause Lexie to flinch. Instead she remained calm, her fingers slowly wrapping and unwrapping around the handle of the hammer, as she listened to him taunt her. "You're gonna hurt me, are you? Should I be afraid, princess? Should I be _worried_?" He laughed as he waved his hand at the hammer. "Do you even know how to use that? Are you gonna hurt me with the hammer, _princess_?"

Lexie's jaw twitched slightly as she replied, "Yes."

"You haven't got the guts."

"That's what you think," Lexie said, her voice lowered. Suddenly, everything she had kept inside for so long was bubbling to the surface, everything that she had always wanted to tell him, to shout at him and the world, it was surfacing and Lexie wouldn't let it rest. Not now. He had to know what he did to her, he needed to face the truth and Lexie wasn't going to hold back.

Her voice was low and calm when she spoke, a stark contrast to the redness in her face, her flaring nostrils and determined, burning eyes. "You think I can't do anything. You think I'll just stand here and take whatever you give me." Lexie shook her head and pointed the hammer at his head. "Maybe, maybe before I would have stood here and cried and _begged_ you to stop but I-I'm not going to now. Not now, not a-anymore." Lexie laughed slightly before she steadied her hand, the hammer aimed at his head. "And you want to know why? Because I'm better than you, dad. I am _better_ than _you_. I'm not that person anymore. I'm stronger than you and I am _right_. You _can't_ do this to me. You can't! I-it's not right. You can't do this to me."

His eyes narrowed, his jaw set as he barked, "Can't I?"

"No," Lexie snapped. "You can't." Her lips curled up in disgust as she frantically waved the hammer. "D-Don't you ever _think_? Don't you ever stop and think that what you're doing is wrong? This…this shouldn't be happening. You shouldn't do this to me. I'm your daughter, not some, some low-life that you can _beat_ whenever you please." Although her eyes were beginning to sting, Lexie shook her head, the anger inside of her stronger than anything she had ever felt before. "It's all _wrong_. This is wrong. And…And how...How can you not realize that? You're not meant to do this; no-one should do this! How the hell can you not realize that this is _wrong_?"

Thatcher glared at her. "I'm not the one in the wrong here. I'm not wrong." He took a step forward, his eyes flicking from the hammer to her pale face. "You're _wrong_. Y-You think you can do this? You really believe that you can _hurt_ me? _Me?_" His rage suddenly exploded and his shouts shook the room. "I'm your father! You can't hurt me; you can't do this to _me_! You have no guts. You're a pathetic, stupid bitch. Just like your mother. Huh, your mother. And what would _she_ say if she saw you now?"

The blood drained from Lexie's face and she turned her head away, her eyes falling to look at the floor. After a moment, she harshly whispered, "Don't talk about her. Don't you dare talk about her."

"Who? Your _mother_, Lexie?" Thatcher asked, his voice taunting her. He laughed as he took another step towards her. "What would she say if she saw you now? Huh? What would she do if she saw you ready to hurt your own father?" He shook his head in disgust, his hand waving at the hammer shaking in Lexie's hand. "She would be _disgusted_ with you. She would _hate_ you, Lexie. She would hate you, just like how I hate you."

"Stop it," Lexie whispered before looking up at him in disbelief. Steadily, her voice increased in volume as she denied his accusations. "She wouldn't. She…She would understand. This is your fault. Everything…Everything that's gone wrong, it's your fault! She would understand that you made me this way!"

"No, princess, she would _hate_ you. Her own daughter – a _mess_. What about Molly? And Meredith? Do they know about your sick thoughts, huh, Lexie? Do they know about your desire to kill your own father?"

Lexie flinched at his words and she shook her head, tears slipping out of the corner of her eyes. "Stop it. Stop it. I'm not like that. You are! There's nothing wrong with me! You forced me into this! You made me like this; I wasn't like this before you! Stop it, you're wrong!"

Thatcher's jaw clenched as he balled his hands into fists. "No! It's you, Lexie! You're to blame. You're always to blame. You're the reason this happened! You are doing this, not me!"

"I-I… " Lexie stopped and gripped the hammer tighter. She moved it into position, as if it had turned into a baseball bat and she was ready to strike. "I'm not the bad one. You're the sick one! I'm not. I'm _not_. You're the reason my life has fallen apart. You're the reason I'm like this, it's your fault and you're-you're too damn stupid to realize it!" Lexie cried as she felt the hammer shake in her hands. "I'm not the bad one! It's you! It's always been you, you, not me! It's your fault!"

His eyes flicked to the trembling hammer and then back to her tearful eyes. Thatcher growled at her. "Are you going to do it, Lexie? Huh? Is the little princess going to hurt me?" His eyes darkened and he took another step forward. "Come on," he taunted, his eyes steady on hers. "I _dare_ you. Hurt me! Come on!"

Lexie's bottom lip trembled as she cried silently, her hands shaking around the tool. She couldn't do it. He was right, she couldn't do it. She was too weak and pathetic and worthless. She wasn't brave enough, she didn't have the guts. He would always rule over her. There was no way she could escape him because always, no matter how hard she tried, he would always overpower her. She was too weak to stop him.

There was nothing she could do but cry.

"I-I can't," Lexie forced out as the tears rained down. "I-I-"

"Do it!" Thatcher shouted before stalking up to her, his body looming over her. Suddenly he was there, right in front of her, merely an inch away from her. His hot breath ran over her, his shadow casting a spell over her. "Do it!" He screamed, his face red, the stench of alcohol encasing Lexie.

"I can't," Lexie whimpered as she ducked her head, the tears curving over her cheeks. "I-I can't," she sobbed before she dropped her arms to her side, the hammer dangling loosely in her grip. Tears ran down her face as she cautiously looked up at Thatcher, regret and sorrow clear on her broken, angelic face. "I can't do it," she sobbed. "I can't. I can't hurt you. God, I ca-can't do it. W-Why can't I hurt you?"

In the silence that followed her admission, Thatcher's eyes remained steady on the hammer. He didn't move any further, he simply watched her, waiting for the right time. The tears cascaded down her pale cheeks and Thatcher was struck by the lack of remorse he felt as he watched his daughter. His eyes darted to the wooden handle and for the first time he realized that it was stained red with her blood.

He didn't care.

Suddenly, his hand lashed out, his coarse hand connecting with Lexie's wet face. The sound of flesh against flesh vibrated through the small room and Thatcher smirked when Lexie shrieked in pain. His eyes narrowed however when she didn't fall, her head only moving to the side. He tried again, harder this time, her cheek flaring red from the contact. But she didn't fall to the ground.

This time it was different.

His anger blazed through him like a white flame and he let out a shout before he pushed her, his two hands slamming against her shoulders with brute force. Her reaction was instant. There was a loud noise, the hammer connecting with the floor as her grip loosened, the tool running away from her. And then there was the second sound, the sound that hurt Lexie's ears but gave Thatcher a sense of satisfaction – the sound of Lexie's frail body shattering against the floor.

Thatcher watched as Lexie gasped for air when her head came into contact with the hard floor. His eyes darted to the side, landing on the forgotten hammer, and he smirked when he plucked it from the floor. He didn't mind the feel of her wet blood now staining the palm of his hand.

He smirked again as he watched Lexie sob. She had fallen to the ground yet again. This time wasn't different. Lexie was lying on the floor and Thatcher was standing above her, his chest puffed out and his craving for beer the purest it had ever been.

Nothing was different. Nothing would ever change. He would make sure of it.

* * *

"I can't do this!"

Callie looked up from her position on the on-call room bed and raised her eyebrow at Mark, who was standing in the doorway, his expression dark and stormy. "Do what?"

Mark growled and slammed the door shut behind him. Moving further into the room, he began to pace, unsure of what to do. "_This_," he stressed. "I can't do it!"

"Okay..." Callie drawled as she slowly moved up on the bed, so that she could rest against the wall. She titled her head to one side and concentrated on Mark's fast moving body. Slowly, she asked again, "Do what?"

"Ignore her!" Mark shouted before stopping pacing. He spun to look at Callie, his face angry. "She's impossible to ignore!"

"Who?" Callie asked, frowning. When Mark didn't reply, and instead just glared at her, Callie's eyes widened as it dawned on her. "Oh! Oh. Oh, _Lexie_."

"Who else would I be talking about?"

"Well, I dunno, but you weren't making a whole lot of sense, Mark." Callie paused when Mark nodded absently. She waited for him to continue, expecting a long rant from him, but when he said nothing, Callie spoke. "So, what happened?"

Mark opened his mouth to say something but then stopped. He didn't know where to begin. At first, when Callie had told him Lexie had hung up the phone on her, Mark made a vow not to talk to her. He wouldn't bother worrying about her when she clearly did not want to talk to him. It was simple. Or at least, appeared simple at the start.

Now as his shift was drawing to an end, thoughts of going to Lexie's house–like he said he would at the start of the day–started to filter into Mark's mind. If he wasn't so stubborn he would go over to her house and ask her what happened earlier. Maybe she had a perfectly good reason as to why she didn't want to answer the call. She might have a reason. It was Lexie after all; she wouldn't do something unless there was logic behind it.

As the day went on, Mark's thoughts of Lexie increased. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't leave it alone. He couldn't ignore her. It was true, she was impossible to ignore. He never understood how anyone could forget about her. She was constantly there, haunting his mind. Her face, her smile, her eyes, her sweet voice would drift into his mind and Mark found it hard to concentrate.

He couldn't ignore her and if he was honest with himself, it was annoying. He couldn't forget her; she was constantly there. Why? He wasn't sure. This was the first time Mark had felt this way. Never had a woman taken up this much of his time. Maybe it was because of the circumstances. It was different with Lexie, and not simply because of her own personal situation.

He was a different person now.

He cared more, he wanted more. It was hard to admit, but Mark believed he was finally ready to commit. It was a scary word, an even scarier concept to act out, however now that Mark thought about it, it didn't seem so unreasonable. He deserved to be happy and being with Lexie made him happy. When he was with her, he was continuously smiling, she made things seem better.

She gave him hope.

Maybe he could commit to her.

There was always a first time for everything.

Glancing back at Callie's expectant face, Mark sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know where to start," he said honestly.

Callie gave him a sympathetic smile and then patted the seat next to her. "Sit." When Mark did as she said and took a seat next to her on the bed, mirroring her posture, Callie looked up at him, her expression serious. "Listen to me Mark, because I'm only going to say this once. You care about Lexie. You care about her and you may...you may even love her."

Mark can't control the scoff that escapes him. "I'm not–"

"Don't argue with me," Callie said sternly. There was a small smile on her face when she said, "I know you better than you know yourself. You love her. You care about what she thinks of you and you don't want to disappoint her. You're scared and yet...you still want to commit to her."

Mark was silent, wondering how Callie had figured him out so easily.

"I'm the closest thing you have to a best friend, Mark and so I _know_ you. I know that you're ready but then Lexie goes and does this and it screws with your head. It's scary, isn't it?"

They sit in silence for a moment before Mark's rough whisper floats into the air. "I don't understand why she chose me."

Callie felt something stab at her heart and she reached out to take his hand in hers. "Mark, she probably loves you, too. That's why she chose you. You're a good man, Mark. I know you don't believe it but you're a good, _good_ man."

He is silent for a moment before his gruff voice fills the silence. "How do you know? What if I'm not as good as everyone thinks?"

Callie smiled slightly, and squeezed his large hand. "I just know. And Lexie knows it, too. That's why you're good together." Callie sighed gently as she tries to explain it to him. "You're a changed man, Mark. The way you feel about Lexie, it's different isn't it?"

His response is instant. "Yes."

"And do you know why it's different?"

Instead of replying, Mark simply nodded slightly. He knew, they both knew, but he couldn't admit it. Not yet. But one thing he was sure of was that he had to get answers. He needed to see Lexie now more than anything. There was no point in being upset with her; there must be a logical reason as to why she cut his call. He has to believe that. He couldn't ignore her, he should never ignore her.

And then it dawned on him. He shouldn't be here, sitting in the On-Call room with Callie, he should be out there, he should be with Lexie. He should go to her and see if she's okay. He needed to see her, talk to her, hold her in his arms and tell her that he was ready for everything. All he needed was her.

With a slow fire steadily burning in his heart, Mark looked at Callie, his deep blue eyes staring at her and he has to tell himself to remain calm as his deep voice cuts through the air, his voice strong, determined and sure. "I have to go see her. I have to see her. Now."


	27. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N: **Yes, I'm still writing this, and I am incredibly sorry but life keeps biting me in the butt lately. This story is nearing an end now so I hope people can stick with this, and can I just say I will always be sincerely grateful to everyone who has reviewed and/or checked up on me and this story. Your kind words mean a lot to me, especially when this story is really tough to write sometimes. Anyway, enough chit chat, read, enjoy and let me know what you think! (:

* * *

"Lexie!" Mark called as he banged his fist against the door again. He sighed when he heard no response. "Come on, Grey!"

When the door didn't open, Mark grumbled and yanked his cell from his pocket. Quickly dialing Lexie's number, he held the phone to his ear before craning his neck upwards to stare at her bedroom window. The curtains were drawn shut and Mark glared at the window. He knew she was in there; her battered old car was sitting alongside the road. His stare narrowed when the phone kept ringing. Where the Hell was she?

Looking around briefly, Mark's attention was pulled back when he heard Lexie's voice float through his phone. Voicemail. Sighing, he left a message. "Grey, I'm standing outside your house, extremely pissed off. Don't waste my time. Let me in." He sighed and his voice dropped, a lot softer as he said, "Please, Lexie. I need to see you."

Snapping shut his cell, Mark began to slam his hand against her door again. He wouldn't leave until she talked to him. He wouldn't ignore her and he would make sure that she didn't ignore him, either.

This was going to end now.

* * *

He had been gone for nearly an hour now. Or at least, that is what it felt like. Lexie had watched from her position on the floor as he had staggered out of her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him, the noise causing her to flinch. Unable to move, she had stayed flat against the floor for a long time before she had carefully shuffled her body towards the back wall.

Now, Lexie sat resting against the wall, her muscles sore and a bruise throbbing on her face. She looked up at the ceiling and briefly wondered where Thatcher was. She hadn't heard the front door open, so she had deduced that he must be in the living room, or the kitchen, getting drunk.

No surprise there, Lexie thought dryly as she sighed and gently brought her knees up to her chest. Carefully she rested her unharmed cheek against her knee and closed her eyes. He would be back soon and Lexie felt all the fight drain out of her. At this point, she couldn't summon the energy to fight anymore.

He could do what he wanted now.

She had given up.

Just as she felt the pull of sleep, a loud noise caused Lexie's eyes to snap open. She watched, frozen, as Thatcher stood in the doorway, his presence darkening the room. Before she can blink, he is standing in front of her.

"Leave me alone," Lexie cried. "Just leave me alone, _please_."

Thatcher shook his head and crouched down in front of her. "Why would I want to do that?" He slurred, his beer bottle waving in his hands as he continued. "Why...Why would I leave you, princess?"

Lexie sobbed harder when she felt his finger running down her cheek. "Please...Don't."

"Don't what, princess?"

Lexie gripped her knees closer to her chest and clenched her eyes shut tighter. He'll go away soon, he'll leave soon, he'll do what he wants and then he'll get bored. He always gets bored, Lexie knew that. She would wait, Lexie was good at waiting, she was a patient person.

_One, two, three, four._

His finger ran closer to her bottom lip.

_Five, six, seven._

His grip on her face tightened and his knees came into contact with her legs.

_Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen._

"Lexie..." He whispered, resting his bottle on top of her knee.

She wouldn't speak. She refused to speak to him.

_Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty._

"Lexie."

_Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three._

"Lexie."

_Twenty-four, twenty-five. _

"Lexie!"

His hand came crashing down and the impact caused Lexie to let out a scream. Her cheek flared, heated by the anger, his unbridled passion to hurt her, and Lexie brought her hand up to touch the sore skin. Before she had time to prepare herself, his hand was on hers, ripping it away from her cheek. He gripped onto her hand, shoved it onto the ground, and then slapped her again. This time it was her left cheek that felt the pain, and this time the sheer force behind the hit sent her flying to the ground.

Now on her side, Lexie curled up into a small ball, her knees touching her chest, her tears flowing freely down her red cheeks. It would stop soon, he would stop, he would realize that she was his daughter and that he didn't want to do this to her. He didn't want to do this to her. He didn't want this.

The kick to her side showed her that he did in fact want this.

"You bitch," he spat as he looked down at her small, shaking figure. "Pathetic, worthless _bitch_!"

Thatcher suddenly looked down and noticed his beer bottle, which had fallen to the carpet when Lexie had. The content of the bottle was slowly pouring out of the green bottle, the floor stained with its life. Rage surged through Thatcher at the sight of his beer pouring into the carpet.

"Look at what you did!" He shouted, "Look at what you did, you stupid bitch!"

"I'm sorry," Lexie sobbed. "I-I-I'm s-sorry!"

Suddenly, his hand was in her hair, ripping the delicate brown locks from her scalp, pulling her up from her position on the floor. "Look at what you did!" He screamed into her ear and Lexie whimpered in response. "Look!"

"I'm sorry!"

He slammed her face into the floor.

"You're as stupid as your bitch of a mother," Thatcher snarled as he dropped Lexie's hair and moved away from her.

With her face against the harsh material of the carpet, Lexie felt her tears and blood soak into the floor beneath her. All emotions seeped out of her as she listened to him muttering, cursing under his breath. She wouldn't move, it would only hurt too much. And so, Lexie just watched as he paced in front of her and then turned and walked to her bedroom door.

She didn't blink as he slammed the door behind him.

She didn't blink when she heard the door lock behind him.

All she did was cry, allowing the tears to make their way down her face and into the carpet beneath her.

* * *

The sound of someone banging against the door caused Thatcher to frown. Quickly grabbing another beer bottle from the table outside of Lexie's room, he staggered down the stairs and glared at the door before dropping to sit on one of the steps. Gripping onto the carpet below him, he tried to focus on the door, wondering briefly if he was imagining the sound.

When he heard the muffled shout of a man's voice, a small smile twitched at the corner of his lips. Leaning forward slightly, he stared at the door, slightly amused, but when the banging started, louder this time, he found himself grimacing at the noise.

"Shut up," Thatcher mumbled under his breath. From his position on the stairs, he flinched at every bang against the door. His voice was low as he muttered, "Shut up, shut up, shut up."

The noise continued. It got louder and louder, each slam hurting his ears, pounding against his head. What was it? Thatcher didn't know. Lexie was locked away, it couldn't be her. Who was it? Why were they trying to ruin this?

"Shut up," he whispered again, his eyes narrowing at the door, his body slowly rocking back and forth. "Go away, go away, go away."

"Lexie! Come on! I know you're in there!"

Thatcher stopped rocking immediately. The voice was muffled, but only slightly. It was still loud, still clear and it was distinctively male. Thatcher's reaction was instant. The beer bottle touched his lips again, the liquid quickly drained and swallowed by him. Wiping his mouth, Thatcher glared at the door. A male calling after Lexie. A boyfriend? Thatcher nearly laughed at the thought. No-one wanted her. He had made sure of it.

Soon, anger flared up inside of him, raw and fast. How dare a man come to his house and demand for Lexie. He didn't deserve her. He didn't need her. No-one should need her. This man, whoever he was, shouldn't be disturbing him. He shouldn't be coming after his daughter.

Thatcher doesn't even pause as he got up from his seat on the stairs. His grip tightened on the bottle as he rushed down the remaining steps. His body swayed slightly as he stretched out his arm, beer bottle aimed at the door.

"Lex! Open the door!"

Thatcher smirked when he heard the voice. The desperate voice. This man didn't know what he was getting himself in for. He didn't know anything. If he did, then he would know not to disturb Thatcher. No-one got in the way. No-one would.

Raising the bottle in the air, Thatcher grinned before drawing back his arm and suddenly, he let go. The bottle crashed against the door with a shattering force, the sound silencing the voice on the other side of the door. Thatcher's grin widened and he walked closer to the door before he crouched down and pushed open the letterbox.

His eyes watched as the jean clad legs moved further away, the person stepping backwards. Good, he thought as they walked down the pathway leading away from the house. Thatcher smirked as he got up from his crouched position.

* * *

Mark took a step back when he heard the crashing noise. He walked backwards so that he could crane his neck upwards to look at Lexie's bedroom window. Frowning, he shook his head and moved closer to the door. After a moment, he began to knock on the door again and he was about to shout Lexie's name when a quiet creaking noise caused him to take a step back and look down.

"What the–"

Mark felt his heart stop when he saw the letterbox push open and a pair of icy blue eyes stare back at him. He could recognize that face anywhere.

His reaction was instant. Something snapped inside of him and before he knew what he was doing, Mark was charging at the door, his hands slamming against the wood. "Let me in," he growled before punching the door. Quickly, Mark crouched down so his eyes were level with Thatcher's. "Let me in, you sick bastard."

For a moment the eyes didn't blink, the steely gaze focused on Mark, before suddenly, a sharp laughter pierced the air and the corners of the eyes crinkled upwards. Mark felt his blood boil as he heard Thatcher laughing in his face.

"If you've done anything to her," he barked, his jaw clenched so hard that it hurt. The sound of Mark's fist slamming against the door doesn't cause either man to flinch. "I'll fucking kill you."

In the silence that follows, Mark glared at Thatcher and when the other man doesn't blink, Mark stood up and kicked the door, not noticing the pain that jolted up his leg. He did it again and again, silently hoping that the door will magically fall down.

When nothing happened, and when Thatcher's laughter can be heard again, Mark saw red and threw himself against the door. In a continuous stream, he banged his fists against the door and although he knows it will leave bruises, he doesn't care.

Lexie was in there.

Alone.

Hurt.

It only caused him to hit the door harder. He would get her out. Somehow.

* * *

After a futile fifteen minutes of shoving himself against the door, Mark pulled away, his breathing heavy. He couldn't hear Thatcher anymore. Looking up at the window, he can't make out any shadows but Mark knew he was up there. With her. The thought caused his heart to race and unable to think of anything else, Mark pulled out his cell phone.

"Police, please," Mark barked out, his eyes fixated on Lexie's window. "Come on, come on," he whispered as he felt his heart slam rapidly against his chest. When the sound of a female's voice floated through the line, Mark quickly retold the events and recalled Lexie's address.

Five minutes.

The police would be here in five minutes and although Mark knew that he should wait for them, that he should remain calm and start praying; instead the idea of five minutes seems too long.

Five minutes was an eternity.

There was no way he could stand here and wait patiently for the police to arrive. Quickly, Mark looked around for something to throw. His eyes narrowed on a potted plant. As he picked it up, a part of his brain that doesn't seem to be in touch with what is happening, reminded him that Lexie is going to shout at him for ruining her window.

But that wasn't important right now.

Before he changed his mind, Mark threw the pot at the small window next to the door. The piercing crash that followed caused Mark to sigh in relief. Hastily, he moved to the window and being careful of the sharp edges he maneuvered his arm through the window so that he could reach the door handle.

After a few attempts, the door clicked open, and then, without having to think twice about it, Mark entered the house.


	28. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N: **I know it's been months, and I am truly sorry. I really do appreciate people continuously reading, reviewing, and sending me PMs to check up on me and this story, there aren't enough words to express my gratitude to every single person who takes the time to read my work, you guys are truly awesome. Honestly, I really dislike this chapter because I don't think it feels right, but then I figure, no matter how long I spend re-writing it, it is what it is. Hopefully, it's okay! Anyway, this is my olive branch, please accept it and as always: read, enjoy and let me know what you think! (:

* * *

It felt like the calm before the storm. The room was still, the house was silent and Lexie wondered if this was it.

This was how she was going to die.

Alone, broken, her body weak, this was going to be the end for her because no-one knew. No-one knew that Thatcher was in here with her, he had hurt her, he would kill her, no-one knew and as the thought washed over Lexie's mind all she could think about was the fact that this was her fault. She never told anyone, she never told Meredith or Derek. No-one knew except for Mark and he had no reason to assume she was in trouble.

_You're going to die._

As the thought rolled around in the darkness of her mind, Lexie felt her heart clench in pain. Although there were no more tears left to shed, her throat constricted and her eyes burned with sorrow. This wasn't what she wanted. This wasn't supposed to happen. It was supposed to be over, she had Mark now and she was supposed to have a happy ending.

_You don't deserve it._

_You're going to die._

Lexie sighed as she shifted slowly against the floor, her muscles aching and her face sticky from the blood that had been seeping out of her. There was no point in trying to leave, there was no fight left in her because this was it. There was no way out. The door was locked and when he came back in…

Lexie closed her eyes and let out a ragged breath.

_You're going to die._

* * *

Staggering up the stairs, Thatcher smirked when the noises of Mark slamming himself against the wooden door became fainter and fainter. "Idiot," Thatcher murmured under his breath as he reached to top of the stairs. Glancing at the locked door in which Lexie lay behind, Thatcher wondered briefly if he should turn away. _Let the bitch rot in there._ The thought was appealing; however Thatcher's curiosity got the better of him.

He wanted to see the dirty bitch in pain.

He wanted to hear her whimper and scream and beg him to stop.

_Pathetic._

Unlocking the bedroom door, Thatcher slammed the door open with such force that the noise caused Lexie to jump from her position on the floor. Thatcher watched as she shivered and scrambled into an upright position against the wall.

"Your _boyfriend_ is outside," he announced as he walked back into the room. His voice is uninterested and Thatcher shrugged casually as he walked towards her.

Titling his head to the side, he watched as she quivered in the corner, her knees held tightly to her chest. "Aren't you going to say anything?" He murmured as he crouched down in front of her. When Lexie doesn't respond, Thatcher sighed and got up. "Fine."

As he walked away from her, he whistled cheerfully. If she wasn't going to speak to him willingly, he would just have to make her speak. Stopping by her desk, Thatcher titled his head to one side as his eyes searched the content of the desk. Finally, he picked up what seemed like the heaviest medical journal and turned around to see Lexie watching him with large eyes.

"I never understood why you had to do it," he murmured as he sat down on her bed, his body facing her as he opened the book and began flipping through the pages. "Medicine. Useless."

Of course, Lexie thought dryly, because who really needed medicine? Doctors aren't important. If she wasn't in so much pain, Lexie would have rolled her eyes at his actions. Before this, Lexie would never have thought her father was an idiot, she would have been too afraid to think badly of him. But now as she watched him mutter under his breath about the "pathetic doctors who think they know everything," Lexie realized that it was okay to think her father was an incredibly stupid, worthless man.

A man who would be stupid enough to hit a woman certainly didn't deserve her kindness or respect.

From her position on the floor, Lexie watched as Thatcher suddenly stopped in the middle of his muttered rant to look up at Lexie. His eyes narrowed at her and he spat, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

When Lexie didn't respond, this only made Thatcher angrier. "What? Cat got your tongue, princess?" Shaking his head furiously, Thatcher gripped the book tighter. "Maybe this will get you to speak," he seethed before he ripped a page out of the journal.

With each rip, the sharp noise caused Lexie to flinch. Mark had given her that journal.

"This," Thatcher shouted as he held up the tattered book, "This is why you're like this. This is why you don't listen to me!"

With tears in her eyes, Lexie turned her head away from him. She still refused to make a noise; she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Thatcher watched as she turned away from him and suddenly, his anger couldn't be contained. Standing up, Thatcher threw the book at Lexie, causing it to hit her exposed neck. Even though her body reacted on its own accord, Lexie didn't even whimper.

It wasn't good enough.

"Say something!" Thatcher shouted at her as he loomed over her. Her silence was making him crazy. For all these months, she had cried and shouted and yelped and now, there was nothing. There was nothing left to say. It wasn't right; it wasn't how this was supposed to happen.

"Stupid bitch," Thatcher gritted out as he moved closer to he could swiftly kick her in the stomach. Instantly, Lexie's lips drew into a thin, tight line, but she didn't make a noise.

She was stronger than this. She wasn't going to give in to him.

She wasn't going to show her pain because she was better than him. She was better than this.

Even if he killed her, she wouldn't cry. She wouldn't do anything to show her pain because then he would win. And if this was her last fight, then _she_ was going to finally win.

Looking up at him, Lexie felt her anger rise and suddenly, even though her body was bruised and tired and numb, she managed to shift so that her hands were planted firmly on the floor. And then, before Thatcher could react, Lexie pushed herself up so that she was on all fours.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Thatcher said just before he moved forward and kicked Lexie's legs, causing her to buckle and fall flat on her stomach. Lexie's sharp intake of breath was the only thing that alerted Thatcher to the fact he had hurt Lexie. Besides that, she remained perfectly silent and still, much to Thatcher's annoyance.

Shaking his head, Thatcher is about to speak when a noise stops him.

Was that glass shattering?

Thatcher remained still for a moment, and when the noise didn't happen again, he looked down in disgust at Lexie. "You're pathetic; did you know that, princess?" When Lexie doesn't reply, Thatcher grabbed her hair, easily pulling her limp body upwards. "Answer me!"

Fumbling slightly, Lexie grabbed onto the bottom of Thatcher's shirt, slowly pushing her shaking legs into an upright position. Leaning heavily against him, Lexie stared Thatcher, her eyes steady on his and when he growled and yanked her hair, Lexie didn't blink. Instead, she let out a breath and gripped onto his shirt tighter.

Before he can say anything, Lexie sighed heavily and with a hoarse, unrecognizable voice, she muttered, "You…" Her eyes flick up to meet his as a soft smile formed on her cracked lips. "You…_disgust_ me."

A rather animalistic snarl escaped Thatcher's lips as he dug his fingers into her scalp. "I disgust you? You're the disgusting bitch, not me!"

Swaying slightly, Lexie clenches her hands into fists against him. "You," she muttered before slamming her fist into his stomach. Of course Thatcher doesn't react; it would have been more effective if she wasn't so weak. "You…deserve to rot in Hell."

"And you," Thatcher replied as he stared at her. "You aren't even worthy of Hell."

Before Lexie has time to react, Thatcher pushed her down to the floor. Landing on her back, Lexie finally groaned in pain.

Finally giving up, Lexie closed her eyes when she sees Thatcher walking away again.

_You're…going….to….die._

* * *

Slowly maneuvering his way over the shattered glass, Mark glanced around the still hallway. The eerie silence that encased the house caused Mark's heart to beat painfully in his chest, his thoughts racing in his mind, loud and frantic. And when Lexie's face fluttered into his mind's eye, Mark jerked into action, his legs moving on their own accord towards the stairway, his first instinct to check Lexie's bedroom.

And as soon as he reached the first step, the sound of floorboards creaking caused Mark's head to snap up.

The blood slowly drained from his face at the sight in front of him.

Thatcher.

A slow, sick smile crawled onto the older man's face as he regarded Mark's pale face.

"Welcome to my home."

The icy statement caused Mark to shiver involuntarily, whether it was out of fear or dread or anger, Mark wasn't sure because all he knew at that moment was that Thatcher was in front of him, Thatcher was in the way of him and Lexie and finally, Mark could save her from this man.

Staring at the man who had surely, once upon a time, loved the girl he had trapped in this house, Mark was stuck between waiting for the police, waiting for reason and justice, or he could run, he could slam his fist into Thatcher's face and tear him to pieces, leave him in a pool of blood and run for Lexie.

A shoot of anger tore through his body and before he knew what he was doing, Mark marched up the stairs, his footsteps heavy as his eyes remained on Thatcher, silently afraid that if he glanced away, the man would disappear and take Lexie with him.

It didn't take long for him to be standing in front of him. Mark loomed over the older man, his body taunt and threatening as he ever so slightly shook with rage. The indifferent look in Thatcher's icy eyes made Mark want to slam his fist into his face. The idea was appealing, and Mark thought briefly, that it would be justified, after all, this man in front of him, had been terrorizing, abusing the woman he loved. Punching him was certainly justified.

And so, as the thought became more prominent in his mind, Mark clenched his hands, prepared himself for the satisfying sting that would accompany his knuckles cracking Thatcher's nose.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

The low hiss of Thatcher's voice caused Mark to clench his jaw and step closer, his body an inch away from Thatcher's. "And why shouldn't I?" Mark's voice was unrecognizable to his own ears. Low, harsh, edged with the violence that was waiting to spurt out of him. "Why shouldn't I give you exactly what you deserve?"

A hollow laugh vibrated through the hallway.

"I haven't done anything wrong," Thatcher stated, his voice laced with sick pleasure. His head titled to one side as he glanced done to Mark's fist and then back up to his stormy blue eyes. "What do you think has happened, son?"

It was his undoing.

The casual tone, the denial and underlying joy that surrounded every word he said. The use of the word Mark hated. Before he could stop himself – he never really wanted to stop, he wanted to do it continuously, for the rest of his days – Mark's fist slammed into Thatcher's face, a sickly satisfying crunch resounding between the two men.

Thatcher didn't fall. His only reaction was a turn of his head, and a slow trickle of blood from his nose.

Looking at Mark from the corner of his eye, Thatcher slowly turned his head back to face Mark. "Now, what was that for?"

Through a clenched jaw, Mark spat, "You know what that was for, you sick bastard."

There was a moment of silence before Thatcher slowly nodded his head before wiping away the blood that had found its home on the top of his lip. "This is about her, isn't it?" He doesn't wait for an answer before he murmured, "Mm, why am I not surprised? You're the boyfriend." Thatcher let out a snort of disgust. "I didn't do a good job if someone still wants her."

Mark would have responded, but Thatcher's curt voice stopped him. "You can get out of my house now. You're not seeing her."

Another sharp punch to the face, and this time Thatcher stumbled backwards. "Get the fuck out of my way," Mark growled as he forcefully pushed Thatcher and made his way down the hallway.

"Stop!" Thatcher shouted and for a moment he watched in horror as Mark approached the door Lexie was behind. With manic urgency, Thatcher lunged at Mark, shoving him to the ground.

Before Thatcher could do any harm, Mark had rolled them over so that he was lurking above Thatcher. There was a deafening crack as Mark slammed his fist into Thatcher's nose, this time effectively breaking it. "Stay away from her," Mark spat as he moved to stand up, however before he got the chance, Thatcher's head collided with Mark's, causing Mark to fall back in pain.

Using this moment to his advantage, Thatcher crawled away from Mark and leaned against Lexie's door. "You'll never get her," he muttered as he watched Mark slowly rise to his feet. "You'll never touch her. She's mine, not yours. No-one's meant to touch her but me. She's not–"

The sound of distant sirens caused Thatcher to stop, the color draining from his face.

And suddenly, Thatcher's mouth curled up into a snarl as he barked, "The police? You called the _police_?"

Mark's face remained stony as he approached Thatcher, trapping him against the wooden door of Lexie's bedroom. Mark knew that any moment know the police would be slamming through the front door, storming up the stairs and if he didn't get away from Thatcher now, he may also get charged on an account of assault. It didn't matter how much he wanted to kick in Thatcher's head, what mattered the most now was that Lexie was behind that door.

Lexie was behind that door.

She was…

Shoving Thatcher to the side, Mark threw himself against the door repeatedly, suddenly overcome by a new sense of urgency. Lexie was there, she was in _there_, she was so close to him.

"Lex, it's me," Mark shouted as he rested his palms against the door. "I'm here, Lexie. I'm here."

From his position on the floor, Thatcher could do nothing but watch as Mark slammed his foot against Lexie's door. And suddenly, there were several shouts of, "Police!" and the thudding of footsteps on the stairs and slowly, a cold trickle of dread ran down Thatcher's spine as the realization hit him.

This was it.

This really was it.

* * *

She was lying on the floor when they entered the bedroom.

After taking the key from Thatcher, two officers had taken him away to the station, while another two accompanied Mark into the room.

And now, as Mark stood in the ridiculously bright room, he watched silently as the two female officers slowly approached Lexie.

"Lexie?" The first officer said quietly, as she looked at Lexie, who was staring ahead, her eyes unblinking, her breathing heavy and even. "I'm Sandra, and this is my colleague, Jane. We're from–"

"Is he gone?"

Lexie's voice was rough as she slowly rolled over so that her back was against the floor. When she heard the confirmation from the second officer, Jane, Lexie swallowed thickly before she closed her eyes. She didn't realize she was crying until she began to shake, the sobs shaking her small body.

She didn't hear Sandra tell her that she had to go to the hospital, and then the police station, she didn't hear her say that Mark was in the room, that it was him that called the police, and she didn't feel them slowly lift her from the ground, because there was only one thought that was rolling through Lexie's mind.

_He was gone._

And Lexie prayed that this wasn't a sick dream and that it was in fact the truth.

When they led her down the stairs, Mark walking closely behind her, Lexie continued to cry silently because this couldn't possibly be true.

He was gone.

He was really gone.

She was safe.

She was…This…It was…

_You're not going to die._

And when she stepped outside, Lexie felt Mark touch her hand ever so gently, causing Lexie to turn slowly to face him.

"He's gone," she whispered, her whole body shaking as the full extent of what was happening settled in her mind.

"He's gone, Lex," Mark replied, his voice reflecting hers, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

And finally, Lexie collapsed in relief, her legs weak as the weight finally lifted from her heart.

Thatcher was gone.


	29. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N: **This isn't the best, and I'm sorry it's short but it serves its purpose and the real aftermath comes later, so I'm sorry in advance. And guys, guess what? Only three more chapters left after this! Eek. Anyway, please let me know what you think! (:

* * *

Owen walked up to the police officer that was standing outside the cubicle. Glancing slowly at the cubicle and then back at the officer, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do we have?"

The officer looked at Owen and after a moment replied, "Woman, mid-20's. Found at home, beaten by her father." He glanced back at the curtain before looking back at Owen who was nodding slightly. "He's in custody, but she insisted one of us come with her. Just in case." His sympathy showed and he sighed slightly. "Poor girl. I'll be waiting here until you're finished, 'cause then I gotta get a statement from her."

Owen nodded again and turned around, pushing through the curtain, his eyes cast downwards as he snapped on his gloves. "I'm Dr. Hunt. What do we–" He stopped when he saw that it was Lexie sitting on the bed, her face bloody and bruised. For a moment all thoughts drained from his mind before he quickly looked up to see Mark standing next to her. Carefully, he looked in between them, trying to reserve his judgments before he knew what exactly had happened.

"Dr. Sloan," he said slowly before looking at Lexie, his voice softer, "Lexie." Moving closer to the bed, Owen stood still as he asked, "How can I help?"

Lexie looked at Owen for a moment, unsure of what to say, before she looked up at Mark. Reaching out, she placed her hand in his and murmured, "Can't you fix it?"

Mark didn't look at her when he replied stiffly, "I can't…Sorry." Finally, he looked down at her, her face still beautiful despite the paleness and contrasting bright colors that marred her features. Swallowing, he backed away, his hand easily slipping from hers. "I…I need to go speak to…" He stopped abruptly before muttering, "I'll be back."

Lexie frowned as she watched him storm out of the cubicle. Looking up at Owen, she forgets momentarily about her injuries. "What's gotten into him?"

Owen looked over his shoulder and then back at Lexie. He merely shrugged before he took a seat next to her bed. Setting up his equipment, he looked at Lexie from the corner of his eyes before saying, "I'll clean you up, and then the police want to talk to you." Instantly, Lexie tensed and so he calmly continued, "I'll drag Mark back for that. You don't have to do this alone."

Nodding, Lexie stared ahead as she felt Owen bring a cool pad to her skin, attempting to remove the fresh and dried blood from her cheeks. "Okay," she said, her eyes glazing over slightly. He'll be back, her mind repeated as she sat perfectly still. "Okay…"

* * *

Storming through the hallway, Mark was on a mission. He needed to find Derek and he needed to find him now. Nearly breaking out into a run, Mark burst through Derek's office door to find it empty.

"Damn it," he muttered as he swiftly turned around and accidently bumped into someone. He is about to shout at them until he realized who is standing before him. A cold trickle of dread surrounded him as he breathed, "Meredith."

Meredith raised an eyebrow in concern before she looked to either side of her. "Yes?" She replied, not sure as to why Mark looked so surprised to see her. She laughed slightly and eyed him up and down before asking, "Are you alright?"

"Yes! Er, yes…" He stopped, wondering if he should tell her about Lexie. He briefly wondered if she would care. The thought seemed slightly ridiculous to Mark – they were still sisters after all – however he knew Meredith and Lexie hadn't seen eye to eye recently. Swallowing nervously, Mark asked, "You haven't seen…Derek around anywhere, have you?"

"He's in surgery." Meredith looked at him suspiciously. "Can I help you with anything?"

"No, no," he said quickly before he paused. Sighing, he looked up at the ceiling before glancing down at Meredith again. "Busy?"

"No," Meredith replied slowly, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Mark, why are you–"

"It's Lexie," Mark said bluntly, unable to stop himself. He had to tell someone; otherwise this feeling inside him was going to eat him alive. "She's hurt," he said, his voice rough and unrecognizable to his own ears. "Thatcher. He…"

And when his voice trails off, unable to explain the details, unable retell and choke out all the sordid details of what happened to the woman he loved; Meredith simply stared at him, her face showing her shock, her body numb.

It only took a moment before Meredith jerked into action. She turned around and over her shoulder called, "Is she still in the ER?"

"Yeah," Mark said, rushing to her side. He shook his head, still relatively in shock. "Meredith, look–"

"What did he do to her?"

At first Mark is taken back by her sharp tone, the underlining anger evident, but then he realized that Meredith had never been a fan of their father. Regardless of her feelings for her half-sister, he realized that in Meredith's mind, Thatcher was the enemy here; she could put her reservations against Lexie aside for the time being.

"I'm not exactly sure," Mark answered, unsure of whether or not to divulge all the details about Lexie's relationship with her father. He knew Lexie didn't feel comfortable with people knowing, and if he told Meredith everything…Well, Mark knew he couldn't. It was something Lexie had to be strong enough to do.

Unhappy with his lack of information, Meredith shook her head impatiently, increasing her pace. "Right," she said dryly. Rushing through the doors of the ER, Meredith scanned the room and when she sees the policeman outside a cubicle, she rushed over, ignoring Mark's efforts to slow her down.

Without thinking, Meredith whipped open the cubicle curtain and when her eyes fell on Lexie's the breath she had been holding left her chest.

The bruises shining bright against her pale skin caused Meredith's stomach to sink, her food stirring in the pit of her body as she saw the trail of colors that marred her sister's skin. And as she stared at Lexie, the only thought that ran through her mind was the fact that it was her father who had done this. It was her father who had harmed her sister, it was her father who had caused her to be here, and it was their father who, although he may not have treated Meredith well in the past, he had always cared for Lexie, he had always taken care with her, and yet now…It was their father who had done this.

The sound of sheets rustling caused Meredith to snap out of her haze. Casting her eyes to Lexie, Meredith opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Instead she stared at Lexie, her heart bursting against her chest as Lexie looked between Meredith and Mark.

"Hey," Lexie whispered, her voice laced with nerves as she regarded Meredith. Her eyes then darted to Mark, as if silently asking for help. "Erm…"

"I'm sorry."

The words fall out of her mouth, causing Lexie to shake her head in disagreement. Turning to Mark, Meredith lowered her voice slightly as she said, "Could you give us a moment alone, please?"

Without a word, Mark backed out of the cubicle, leaving the two sisters in silence.

* * *

"Hey, Mark!" Callie called as she saw him leave the cubicle. Walking over to him, she placed a hand on his arm and looked up at him, her concern clear. "Hey, I just heard…"

"Yeah." Mark replied, his voice void of any emotion. He continued to stare ahead, his eyes fixed on Lexie's cubicle.

Callie followed his line of sight before she gently rubbed his arm. "She's okay now," she murmured quietly.

Mark nodded curtly before moving away from Callie's touch. "I know that," he snapped, his voice stiff. "I know that." He paused for a moment, his jaw clenching and then he sighed, the coil that had been wrapped around his thoughts breaking, and suddenly everything came out in a flurry.

"I didn't do anything!" Mark growled, his eyes narrowed as the words fly out of him. "I didn't think sooner. I didn't…" He paused and immediately his posture tensed. "He was there, all day. And I didn't even think something was wrong. Instead," he laughed bitterly, "Instead I was _blaming_ her. I thought she was doing it on purpose. That she didn't want to talk to me." He shook his head, as he looked at the curtain. "She couldn't talk to me. She was there, with _him_, and all she wanted was…And I wasn't there, because I'm so…_selfish_."

Touching a gentle hand to Mark's arm, Callie spoke quietly, "Mark…This isn't your fault. You didn't know. There was no way you could know…"

Mark shook his head, but this time he didn't deny the comfort from Callie. Instead he continued to stare forward, his mind racing as he muttered, "I didn't move sooner. If anything happened to her–"

"Stop it, Mark," Callie said forcefully. "She's fine, Mark. You got to her. In the end, you got to her and now she's safe."

"And you think that's all that matters?"

Callie let out a heavy sigh before turning Mark so he could look into her eyes. "That _is_ all that matters." Dropping her voice, Callie looked up at him with concern as she gently repeated, "Lexie is fine, she's safe now because of you. Thatcher is in jail, and that is all that matters. She's safe now, Mark. Thanks to you."

They stared at each other for a moment before Mark took a step back. Shaking his head, he turned back to Lexie's cubicle. "I could have been there sooner. I could have stopped it sooner! She wouldn't be like this if I–"

"Mark."

Callie and Mark turned around at the sound of Derek's voice. Mark stared at him, his face showing no emotion and Derek sighed moving closer. Carefully, he placed a comforting hand on Mark's arm. "Don't beat yourself up over this," he said calmly, his eyes steady on Mark's. "Lexie is fine now. You did nothing wrong."

Anger flared up in Mark and he snatched his arm away from Derek. Shaking his head, he stepped away from them. "You don't know, Derek. You weren't there," Mark growled, his face twisted in pain. "When she didn't answer her phone, I should have known something was wrong. I should have put it together but I didn't and look at what happened! She suffered because of me."

"No, Mark, you didn't hurt her, Thatcher did," Derek reasoned, stepping closer to his friend.

And then, before he knew what was happening, something inside of him snapped and the flood came, all of his emotions and fears pouring out in a rage that couldn't be contained. "But I didn't stop it when I knew about it! I knew, I knew he could come home at any moment and I didn't think! I didn't try harder and she's in there because of me. Because I failed her!"

"Wait…You knew…" Derek stopped himself and suddenly he glared at Mark, not understanding the situation. "You knew…How long has Thatcher been doing this?" When Mark didn't answer, Derek let out a humorless laugh. "He's been hurting her and you didn't think to tell us?"

Mark's face hardened instantly. "Lexie didn't want people to know. It was none of your business, Derek. We were handling the situation."

Derek scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah, and you did a brilliant job of that!"

Sensing that this would do no good for either of them, Callie tried to intervene. "Derek…"

As if he didn't hear her, Derek snapped, "Didn't it ever occur to you that you should have moved her out of that house?"

Fire shot across Mark's expression and he growled, "Don't you dare tell me what I should have done, Derek! You didn't know because Lexie didn't want to tell anyone. It wasn't up to me; I was just respecting her wishes! But that's just so surprising, isn't it?"

"You should have done something, Mark. You could have at least told–"

"Who? Meredith? Is that what you were going to say?" Mark shakes his head. "Like she would have given a damn."

"She's her sister!"

"And look at how she's treated her, Derek!" Mark shook his head in dismay as he stared at Derek. "You think she's perfect, don't you? She's the one who didn't want to know Lexie, not the other way round. Lexie felt alone, Derek, she didn't think she had a family because of the way Meredith treated her!" When Derek doesn't reply, Mark calmed slightly and stressed, "I am the only one who cared enough to _listen_. I didn't just brush her aside, because I _care_ about her. I didn't just want to get into her pants, Derek, because I would give _anything_ to protect her and I didn't. I couldn't protect her and I promised her that I would!"

"Mark…" Callie moved closer to him, her hands carefully landing on his arm, soothingly rubbing him.

Staring at Derek, Mark's voice softened as he reminded him, "We talked about it, Derek. You thought something was wrong but you didn't act. No-one did, except for me because I…care about her. I know that concept seems foreign to everyone but I genuinely care about Lexie, so to know that she was in that house, with _him_…"

Cutting himself off, Mark swallowed thickly as the toll of the day began to choke him. Shaking his head, Mark said quietly, "Do you know how much this _hurts_? Do you know how much it killed me knowing she was in there and I was stuck outside? And now you're blaming _me_ for not telling you sooner? Don't you think I'm blaming myself enough already?"

Silently, Callie wrapped her arms around Mark, pulling him against her side as he sighed heavily, his face tired and his eyes blurry as he stared at his stunned friend.

Unable to speak, Derek looked in between Mark and Callie before finally finding his voice. "Mark, I didn't…I'm–"

"Save it, Derek," Mark muttered before looking over his shoulder. "Just…I need to see Lexie."

As Mark walked away, Derek stood silently staring after him. He watched Callie shake her head and sigh before he turned to her, his voice small when he asked, "He really cares about her, doesn't he?"

"You think?" Callie replied, glaring at Derek.

Derek groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm sorry! I didn't…"

"You didn't think, yeah, that's something you and Mark have in common." Callie rolled her eyes as she stared at Lexie's cubicle. She turned to look up at Derek, her face softening when she said, "He loves her and he's already beating himself up about this. He doesn't need you telling him he's in the wrong. He just needs his friends now. They both do."


	30. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N: **I am so sorry this has taken me ages to update, but starting a degree has just taken up all my time lately so I'm sorry, but here we go. I know it's stupidly short but only one more chapter and an epilogue after this. Wow, that sounded weird. I hope this okay. Anyway, _please_ let me know what you think! (:

* * *

Once Mark had left the cubicle, Lexie watched Meredith with curious eyes. They stared at each other, neither knowing where to begin, Meredith's apology still hanging in the strained air between them, silently taunting them.

It was Lexie who broke the silence first.

With a delicate cough, Lexie shuffled in her bed and began to twirl the bed sheet between her fingers. "So, you're…" She began carefully, her voice barely audible.

Meredith didn't need any more encouragement because suddenly, as if someone had punched her and forced the words out of her, everything tumbled out in a stream of hurried letters and sounds.

"I'm so sorry, Lexie," she said, her voice trembling ever so slightly. If Lexie wasn't so attentive, she would have missed the shine in Meredith's eye when she said lowly, "If I knew…If I was a better sister…God, I'm so sorry, Lexie…I'm so–"

"You didn't know," Lexie interrupted. "I-It's not your fault because I…" The remorse is evident in her eyes as she regarded her older sister. "I-It's my fault, If I could have just told you…"

Meredith swallowed nervously; neither of them daring to think of what would have happened if Lexie had told Meredith the full truth. "You tried to," Meredith whispered, the shame unbearable as she remembered the night she had called Lexie to take Thatcher from the bar. It seemed so long ago but now, the image of Lexie wincing at her father's shout, his touch, her nervous gaze and shaky words…

"I shouldn't have made you take him home that night from the bar, Lexie." She shook her head in dismay. "If I knew…" Her eyes were steady on Lexie's, bright and perfectly honest. "If I knew what he was doing to you, I swear to God I wouldn't have let him anywhere near you, Lexie."

Lexie nodded her head, her breathing becoming slower as she tried to calm herself as images of that came flashing back into her mind. It had worked out fine in the end, she reminded herself, that night was the night she had told Mark and…If that hadn't had happened, Lexie didn't know what she would have done with herself. The only thing she could hold onto at the moment was that at least Mark had known, at least someone had known, and because he knew, Mark saved her. In the end, he saved her, and right now, that's all that mattered.

"It's fine," Lexie repeated, the words coming easily to her as they had done throughout this ordeal. Everything was fine, she was fine, her relationship with Thatcher was fine…

Meredith shook her head, she couldn't believe Lexie's submissive attitude. This wasn't right, what had he done to her? This wasn't Lexie; this wasn't the _Grey_ attitude to life. No-one should have been able to push her around or tell Lexie what to think. No-one should have abused her or taken away her strength and confidence and voice. Just the thought of what he had done to her caused Meredith to swell with anger. "No, Lexie, it isn't fine," Meredith said, her voice laced with annoyance at the man she used to call her father.

Meredith sighed heavily and moved closer to Lexie, moving so that she could sit down next to her. Slowly, hesitantly, Meredith reached out and placed her hand on top of Lexie's. The motion caused a spark of warmth to spread from Lexie's hand straight to her heart as she watched this woman, the woman who had ignored her for so long, openly show her regret and care for her.

Lexie's eyes welled with repressed tears as Meredith breathed in deeply before whispering, "Nothing…_nothing_ about this is fine. You're safe now; you'll always be safe now, but…" Her eyes shone brightly with emotion as she squeezed Lexie's hand. "It's _not_ fine…You're allowed to not be fine, Lex."

And with those whispered words, Lexie broke, the tears flowing, her small body shaking with so much despair and relief that Meredith enveloped her against her own body, and silently made a promise to herself that she would never let her little sister go again.

* * *

Bracing himself, Mark stopped in front of Lexie's cubicle, his shaking hands firmly placed in the pockets of his jeans. He could do this, he reminded himself as he felt the eyes of Callie and Derek on his back. He needed to apologize to Lexie, to let her know that if he had known sooner, if he hadn't been so selfish and childish then…

Stopping short, Mark took a large breath before slowly opening the curtains. The sight that he witnessed shocked him. On the small bed, Lexie was curled up against Meredith, her head resting on the older woman's chest as Meredith spoke quietly to her, and although Mark wasn't paying full attention, he caught the words "dog," "Christmas," and "George."

Looking between the two women, Mark blinked, thinking the scene would evaporate from sight if he did so. Instead, the scene remained, causing him to let out a strangled sort of voice as a response. Meredith looked up at him, and quirked an eyebrow expectantly, "Yes, Mark?"

Lexie titled her head slightly so she could look at him, and smiled brightly at the sight of his wide eyes. Stretching out a delicate hand, Lexie said quietly, "You came back."

There was a hint of embarrassment clouding her words and Mark smiled slightly at her. "Of course I did," he responded before pointing a finger between the two of them, slightly accusing. "Am I the only one that finds this scene weird?"

Meredith scoffed in response. "There is nothing '_weird'_ about me retelling stories to Lexie."

"But…" Mark stopped and frowned. "The…_touching_…"

Lexie laughed delicately and sighed against Meredith. "Is nice," she muttered, a small smile on her face. Closing her eyes, Lexie draped an arm over Meredith, her scars openly showing, catching the gaze of both Meredith and Mark and bringing the weight of today back to them.

"Right," Mark replied slowly as he stared at Meredith. "Well, this certainly is a nice change," he said, catching Meredith's eye. She stared at him and a slight smile formed on her thin lips. It was at that moment, Mark just knew Meredith was serious about changing, about forming a relationship with Lexie. No words were spoken between the pair but in that glance, they knew – Lexie would be okay as long as she had the pair of them looking out for her.

Looking down at Lexie, Meredith nudged her gently. "Come on then, looks like Sloan's itching to say something and I think it's private."

Lexie smiled as she moved off Meredith. There was an edge of nerves to her voice as she asked, "You're coming to see me later, right?"

Meredith nodded instantly. "I'll be upstairs; I'll come see you with Derek later." Moving off the bed, Meredith moved past Mark and once she had left, Mark exhaled heavily. He watched Lexie for a moment before commenting, "That was nice to see. Weird, but nice."

Lexie laughed slightly as she nodded. "I know. She's…She's trying."

The smile that took over Lexie's previously pale face was all Mark needed to believe that Lexie and Meredith's relationship was on the road to recovery. He nodded as he approached Lexie. "Good," he said as he looked down at her. She looked so tiny in the bed that it caused Mark's heart to seize in pain. The shades of color that were painted on her didn't belong and Mark wished he could erase them but instead, he was bitterly reminded that in fact, he caused them. If he had just gone to her sooner…

"Lexie," he began. Mark's eyes darted to the side nervously, causing Lexie to reach out and take his hand in her smaller one. Looking at their intertwined hands, Mark wanted to feel happiness, he wanted to feel content and relief that at least he still had her with him, but the feel of the jagged cuts on her palm brushing against his skin caused him to exhale deeply, the slow burn of anger igniting in him once again.

"You're allowed to be angry," Lexie whispered. Her words caused Mark to look up at her, his gaze questioning, but Lexie didn't allow him to speak. Instead she continued, "You're allowed to be angry with him, and me, and this whole situation, Mark."

"I'm not angry with you, Lex." The thought alone was madness to him. He could never be angry at her.

"I know, but…" Lexie sighed and looked away from him. "I didn't tell anyone, Mark. I placed everything, all the stories and pain and everything on you, and that was unfair, I know that." When Lexie looked back at him, he was frowning, but she continued. She needed to say this. "When I was speaking to Meredith, and I saw how upset she was and how sorry she was…I should have told her. I should have told her and Derek and if I had, none of this would have happened."

Her breathing is heavy as she shook her head, her annoyance clear in her voice. "I should never have placed all that on you, it was wrong and I regret it. I regret not telling Meredith, I regret not telling people sooner and thinking that everything was fine, because it isn't fine. I-It isn't right–" Lexie stopped and looked at Mark, her eyes sparking with determination as she announced, "It wasn't my fault. He…_He_ made me think that I wasn't worth anything, he made me think people wouldn't care, he is the one that hurt me and I know that things aren't fine but…they're going to be, eventually."

Hearing her say the words caused Mark to close his eyes in relief. She was right. It wasn't her fault, and neither was it his fault. But…

"Lexie," Mark began, his voice rough. "It isn't your fault. _He_ hurt you. But…_I_ should have known." Opening his eyes, he stared at her, his eyes sorrowful. "I thought you were ignoring me, when you didn't answer my calls, I didn't think that he could have been there and–" In a rush, the words flow out of him in a stream. "I'm sorry, Lexie, I should have been there. It never should have happened and if I could–"

Lexie cut him off with a firm squeeze of his hand. "Shut up, Sloan." The edge in her voice caught him by surprise and in a different situation, Mark would have smirked at her words, but now he stared at glaring eyes. "It is not your fault. Are you psychic?"

When he didn't reply, Lexie raised an eyebrow and Mark shook his head in response. No, he wasn't psychic, though at times, he wished he was.

"Well then, you couldn't have known." The logic was simple, but of course, Mark didn't want to accept it and when he opened his mouth to object, Lexie held up her free hand. "I don't want to hear it, Mark. You couldn't have known, and…I don't want you to blame yourself."

"But I do."

His words are cracked with emotion and in that moment, he looked so vulnerable that Lexie felt her heart break slightly. "Mark…"

Sitting down next to her on the bed, Mark raised her hand to his mouth, and gently ran his lips over the cuts on her palm. "I'm sorry," he whispered against her skin, the words falling from his mouth and seeping into her skin. "If I had–"

_If I had lost you…_

He didn't need to say the words, Lexie knew, she knew him far too well. "You didn't," she whispered, her voice becoming heavy with emotion. "A-And, you're never going to lose me, okay?"

His blue eyes burned into hers as everything clicked into place. She was here, in front of him, and nothing could take that away from him, from them. "It's over," he muttered, his voice wavering ever so slightly as the emotion gripped his throat. "It's really…"

Lexie nodded and before she could think, she reached forward, uncaring of her sore body and pressed herself against Mark. His arms wrapped around her small frame instantly, and he squeezed her body to his, tighter than ever before. They didn't need to say anything more because having their bodies tangled within each other like this would always be enough.


	31. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind.

**A/N: **Okay, so this is the last chapter! There will be an epilogue following soon and originally, this was going to be the beginning part of the epilogue but then all together it turned out to be ridiculously long so I tried to find the right place to cut it in half. I hope this is okay. And please, don't kill me when you get to the end. Seriously. I have spent a long time worrying over this but this has been my plan since the prologue and I know it might not be what people wanted or expected but…I _really_ needed to write this so please, please don't lynch me, yeah? (:

Anyway, as always, let me know what you think! (:

* * *

The room was empty now. There was no bed, no furnishings, no warmth, nothing.

He was gone.

Lexie felt a presence behind her and she didn't need to turn her head to know who it was. "This is my home," she whispered, her voice strained with emotion. "How can I leave my home?"

Gently, Mark placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "This isn't your home anymore, Lexie," he replied, his voice low. "It's just a room. A room inside a house. It's not your home."

Lexie nodded her head slightly. She understood what he meant, of course she did, but she couldn't find the courage to leave. This would always be her home. It didn't matter what had happened, she could look past the bad memories. Or at least she could try.

"I'm going to miss it," she said quietly. Her eyes looked to the side at the closed bathroom door. Her eyes welled with tears as her bottom lip trembled. It didn't matter that the memories were burnt into her now, it didn't matter that this room, that bathroom door, reminded her of all the suffering she endured – she had once lived here happily with her father and Lexie was still trying to hold onto that last shred of happiness.

Her voice trembled as she stuttered, "I-It's just so hard to leave."

Mark moved so he was directly behind Lexie. He placed both hands on her shoulder and gently rubbed his fingers into the material of her top. "I know it is," he whispered.

"I-I can't just forget about it," Lexie whispered, more to herself than Mark. Her eyes shadowed as she continued, "It's not right. This is my _home_. I-It wasn't all hard times. I-I won't let myself forget. I can't just forget about him."

Although it pained him to hear, Mark simply nodded his head. He would never understand Lexie's attachment to her father but he knew now that he shouldn't question it. It didn't matter that he had hurt her, to Lexie he was still her father. Her family. Her blood. She would never forget about him, his scars forever seared into her, however it was the good in him, the times he hugged her, the times he had helped her and listened to her, it is that Thatcher Grey that she would keep alive in her mind.

Although Mark was unsure of her need to remain faithful to her father, he wouldn't tell Lexie of his worries. He knew it wasn't healthy. Lexie needed to move on with her life, she needed to forget everything about Thatcher and look to the future.

It was easier said than done.

Mark continued to rub Lexie's shoulders and he was about to speak, when he was silenced by her soft voice. "I want to thank you, Mark," Lexie said, her small hand coming up to touch one of his. "Thank you."

His motions stopped and Mark looked down at her hand. "What did I do?"

Lexie smiled softly and slowly turned around, placing her hands on his chest. She looked up at him with wide eyes and Mark felt his breath catch in his throat. She really was beautiful.

"You saved me," Lexie whispered, a small smile teasing her lips.

Mark frowned slightly. He did no such thing. He wished he did, but at the end of the day, it was the police that had stormed into the house and saved her. Not him. Even now, two weeks later, Mark still felt slight resentment over the fact.

His hand went to cover one of hers. It was the hand that was placed gently over his heart. "I didn't save you, Lex. I just phoned the police. They did the rest."

Lexie shook her head, her smile widening in excitement. "You knew. From the start, you knew and you didn't give up. Not once did you give up on me."

"That's not exactly true–"

"Mark," Lexie said, stopping him from continuing. "Don't ruin this. I don't care if you think differently, because to me you saved me. You never gave up on me. You never once gave up. Even when I was being stubborn and couldn't admit that something was wrong, you _knew_. You fought for me. Maybe it took you a while, and maybe you doubted yourself, but Mark, you continued to care and you looked after me. You believed in me."

Mark's eyes softened as he looked down into her big doe-eyes. He smiled slightly and brought his other hand up to run it along the side of his face. "I'll always believe in you," he murmured as he leant down and carefully placed a kiss on her forehead.

Lexie smiled and moved closer to him, enjoying the warmth from his hand being on top of hers. "And I'll always believe in you." Slowly, Lexie stood on her tip-toes and pressed her lips to Mark's. It was gentle, it was sweet, and it felt perfect as Lexie pressed her hand harder against Mark's chest – against his heart.

Pulling away, Lexie looked down at their intertwined hands. His larger fingers seemed to engulf her smaller ones and Lexie felt herself falling in love with the sight. Suddenly, she grinned and looked up Mark. "Mark?" She asked, slight excitement showing in her voice.

"Yeah?"

"How do you feel about me buying you a Superman costume?"

The question was so strange and random that it caused Mark to burst into laughter. "You what?"

Lexie grinned cheekily up at him. "A Superman costume. You did save me after all." She then added, "You're my hero."

Mark chuckled and appeared to contemplate the request. "Well…" He replied, carefully drawing out his words. "I do look good in blue…"

Lexie nodded her head, "I agree. You also look good in red."

Mark laughed and shook his head. He then took both of Lexie's hands and wrapped his hands around them. Bringing them up to his lips, he softly kissed her clasped hands. As he raised his head he smiled at Lexie. "You're a strange girl, Little Grey."

Lexie grinned, her eyes sparkling. "Is that a no to the Superman costume?"

"That's a no," Mark replied, his smile turning into a smirk.

"Okay, okay," Lexie replied removing her hands from his and instead wrapping her arms around his neck. "How about…Batman? You look good in black too. _Real_ good."

Mark laughed, "I'm not dressing as a superhero, Lex."

A pout immediately appeared on Lexie's soft lips. "Why not?"

"Because I'd like to save myself the embarrassment."

Lexie rolled her eyes, "You're no fun."

Mark grunted and dropped a kiss on her lips. "I'm funner at other things."

Lexie pulled away from his lips. "Funner? You know that isn't a word."

Mark pulled her closer to him and gave a half-shrug. "You do crazy things to my head. Can't think straight." Mark pressed his lips to hers again, this time in a much deeper kiss. When he pulled away, he breathed, "See?"

"Mmm," Lexie replied as she pulled him in for another kiss. The feel of his tongue against hers stirred up a lot of feelings that Lexie was worried she wouldn't be able to feel again. "So much more funnner," she whispered as she dragged her lips over his, nipping at his bottom lip.

"Lexie," Mark whispered as he clutched her body to his, his hands resting on her lower back. He ran his lips over hers before placing kisses on her cheeks, nose, forehead, anywhere and everywhere.

Panting slightly, Lexie braced her hands against his chest in an attempt to get him to pause. "Mark…"

"Yeah?" He murmured as he ran his tongue over the skin of her neck.

"We should stop…"

"Sure," he replied as he nipped at her exposed skin.

"We really should…"

"Okay," he said as he squeezed her round ass.

Lexie let out a guttural groan as she felt his hand run down her side, stopping to trace along the outline of her breasts. "Are you going to stop?"

"Yeah, why not?" Mark muttered as he brought his lips back to hers in a passionate kiss.

"That's not stopping," Lexie reminded him when he finally pulled away, breathless.

Mark grinned at her slightly, "Sorry."

Lexie smiled shyly and looked away. "It's alright."

Mark looked at her for a long moment, entranced by her simple beauty but then soon snapped out of his gaze when his cell phone went off. Promptly reaching into his pocket, he muttered a quick 'sorry' before answering the call.

"Sloan." Mark paused when he heard Derek's voice float through the line.

"Hey Mark, it's me. I'm with Meredith; she was just called into the police station."

Mark felt his stomach drop at Derek's words. Quickly glancing to the side, Mark saw Lexie move pick up her handbag from its place on the floor. She looked up at him and smiled, mouthed 'who is it?' to which Mark replied 'Derek.' Lexie nodded and pointed towards the door.

Mark nodded again and watched as she made her way out of the room, heading downstairs to wait for him to be done. Turning his attention back to Derek, Mark's tense voice asked, "What's happened?"

"He's gone."

As soon as the words hit him, Mark felt ice run through his body._ He's gone_. "What?" Mark snapped.

Derek sighed as he began recalling what Meredith was told. "Last night, there was only one officer on call. The guy let Thatcher out of his cell to go to the bathroom on his own as there were no other officers to follow him. When Thatcher was out of his cell, a fight broke out between two other men. He used it as his opportunity to grab the officer's keys and make a run for it."

Mark clenched his fist at the thought of Thatcher being free to roam around. Panic began to rise within him at thought he was no out there, somewhere, able to get into contact with Lexie. What if he came here looking for her? Mark wasn't going to let Thatcher have another chance to take Lexie away from him.

"Please tell me you're kidding," Mark barked.

"By the time the officer realized what had happened and called for reinforcements, Thatcher was out of reach."

Mark felt his heartbeat race as he asked, "So they haven't found him?"

There was a pause as Derek tried to find a way to finish the story. He glanced over to see Meredith standing in the doorway of their bedroom, her eyes red, a piece of paper in her hand. He smiled sadly at her and reached out a hand, signaling for her to come closer. When Meredith sat next to him on the bed, her head on his shoulder, her tears soaking into his shirt, Derek sighed and continued.

"This morning they found an abandoned police car in a parking lot by Elliot Bay," Derek said, his voice rough as he wrapped his arm around Meredith's waist. "They found two notes, one addressed to Meredith, and one for Lexie."

It took him a moment to understand. An empty car by Elliot Bay. Notes to his daughters. Mark knew what it meant, and yet he still asked, "What did the note say?"

Derek closed his eyes briefly before opening them and looking to the side at the piece of paper in Meredith's trembling hand. Carefully, he pulled the paper away from Meredith and brought it into his own line of vision. Derek sighed as he replied, "Mark. It looks like a suicide note."

Silence fell between the two men as Mark slowly rubbed his eyes. Suicide. It couldn't be true but the signs…Thatcher really was gone. Immediately, the thought of Lexie floated into his mind and Mark felt his stomach drop. How was he going to tell her? How could he tell her that her father had killed himself?

But…Maybe...

"Are they sure?" Mark asked, breaking the silence. "Have they found...Have they searched the water? Are they sure he isn't still out there?"

Derek nodded gently, understanding Mark's questions. They were the same questions Meredith asked when they were at the police station. Derek began repeating what the police officers had told them. "They've been searching the water but haven't come up with anything. Given the current, the depth, the conditions…It's likely that he's washed away somewhere." Derek swallowed, his voice getting rougher as he gently squeezed Meredith to his side. "They said there was no way he could have survived. They've found some of his blood on nearby rocks along the shore. They…found some snapped chains lying by the car. They think he…Tied a weight to his ankle."

"Shit…" Mark whispered as he glanced to the bedroom door.

Derek waited for a moment, allowing the information to sink into his best friend's mind. It was a lot to take in but Derek had to remind him. "Mark…You have to tell her."

Mark closed his eyes as he imagined Lexie's broken face. "I know," he whispered. "I know. Shit."

"I'm sorry."

"No, er…" Mark sighed and said, "I just don't know…How am I gonna tell her, Derek? Why do I have to tell her?"

Derek nodded, understanding how hard it was to see the woman you love grief over their father. It didn't matter how many sins he committed, it didn't matter what he had done in the past, because at the end of the day he was still their dad. He was part of them and he was gone. Dead.

Derek turned and placed a kiss onto Meredith's head. He then returned his focus to Mark. "I know this is hard. I know, but she needs to know. They asked Meredith if they should call her into the police station but we figured it would be better this way. Coming from you."

Initially, Mark wanted to ask why Meredith couldn't tell Lexie but he knew it would be better if the news came from him. "Alright…Okay…" Mark sighed and shook his head. "This is gonna break her, Derek."

The weight behind the words hung in the air and Derek nodded. "I know. But you can make this better. You're there for her, Mark. Don't let her forget that."

Mark nodded; it felt good to be reminded that he was in fact strong enough to be there for his girlfriend. "Thanks, man," Mark replied as he began walking towards the bedroom door. "We'll come over later. To get the note."

"Yeah…" Derek paused and then added, "Take care of her."

"I will…I will," Mark replied softly before hanging up the phone and heading out of what used to be Lexie's bedroom.

* * *

Lexie smiled at Mark when he came into the living room. "There you are!" She grinned as she tossed the old magazine she was reading onto the desk. She stood up from her seat and went to make her way over to Mark, who was still standing in the doorway. She stopped however when she noticed his expression. Frowning slightly, Lexie felt the dread creep into her veins. "Wh-What's wrong?" She asked nervously as her eyes scanned over his face.

Mark swallowed nervously as he nodded his head towards the couch. "Sit down, Lex," he said quietly before making his way over to the couch and sitting down.

Lexie frowned and self-consciously wrapped her arms over her chest. "I-I don't want to sit down," she replied. "What's going on, Mark?"

"Lexie…I need you to sit down."

All of a sudden, Lexie felt her annoyance rise at Mark's calm demeanor. "I don't want to sit down!" She snapped and then sighed. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. She looked at him with large, questioning eyes. "Tell me what happened."

Mark looked at her, his lips forming a thin line. He clasped his hands in front of him and turned his head away from her. He didn't want to watch as her world came crashing down around her. He didn't want to look as the pain pierced her features.

His voice was soft as he began. "It was Derek on the phone."

Lexie watched Mark, her eyes unblinking, and nodded, although she already knew it had been Derek on the phone.

"He…He got some news. Meredith…" Mark cut off at that point, contemplating his next words. Why was this so difficult?

Suddenly, Lexie jumped to conclusions. "What? Is something wrong with Meredith? Is she okay?" Lexie asked, her eyes widening with fear.

"What? No! Oh shit, no, I'm sorry, Lex," Mark rushed out, his head snapping up to see her face. He watched as she visibly calmed and before he could stop himself, his mouth opened again, the words being forced out against his will. "Your dad killed himself."

His eyes widened as he realized what he had said.

Abrupt. Blunt. Tactless.

All he could do was watch as Lexie's eyes widened and her spine straightened. She began blinking, looking at Mark as if he was lying. She frowned, not understanding what he had said. "Wh-Wh-…What?" She whispered harshly as her arms dropped to her sides. "Wh-Wh-When? When…" Lexie stopped as her eyes drifted out of focus. And then, her eyes snapped up to look at Mark. She glared at him, "_What_?"

Mark looked at her apologetically. "I'm so sorry, Lex…"

"What?" Lexie repeated, her voice strong and angry. "What do you mean he-he _killed_ himself? Why…Wh-Why would he do that?"

"I…I don't know, Lexie." Mark's face crumpled in pain as he whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Lexie."

"Stop saying you're sorry!" Lexie shouted as she stepped away from him, turning her back on him. Her eyes scanned the living room and she shook her head. "He wouldn't…He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't _do_ that."

Mark watched as Lexie began trembling, her legs shaking underneath her. Afraid she would fall; Mark came up behind her. Cautiously, he placed a hand on her shoulder, attempting to steady her. "Lexie…The police called Meredith and Derek into the station. He had stolen a police car and driven to Elliot Bay. When they found the car, it was empty." Gently, he placed his other hand on her shoulder and then squeezed softly, in an attempt to comfort her. "They…They found his blood on the rocks by the shore."

"But…But it might not be," Lexie whispered, hope lighting up her words. "Are they sure it's his blood?"

"He left Meredith and you notes," Mark whispered, his grip tightening on Lexie. He placed a kiss on top of her head and kept his face against her hair as he spoke again. "Suicide notes, Lexie."

It only took a second for Lexie's heart to break.

The pain stabbed her heart, clenching and squeezing the life out of her. Her lips trembled as Mark's words flashed in her head. _Suicide note._

_Suicide note._

_Suicide._

Suddenly, her feet fell away from underneath her and Mark instantly caught Lexie, pulling her limp body against his. He quickly turned her around to face him, wincing slightly as she grabbed on to him. It was as if she was drowning.

"No, no, no…" Lexie whispered as she felt the tears cloud her eyes. "No, he-he _wouldn't_. H-How…How…No, oh God, no, please, no, oh God…God, please…"

"I'm sorry, Lex. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry," Mark whispered as he wrapped his arms around her, his eyes closed as he felt her nails dig into his chest. Her tears wet his neck as her whispers fell over him.

"Why, why would he…No, please, how could he do this to me? Why would he…After everything…He just…"

"Ssh," Mark murmured, rubbing his hands over her back. "It's okay, ssh, it's okay."

"No…No!" Lexie shouted, suddenly pulling away from Mark. Ripping out of his grip she glared at him, the tears still streaming down her face. She pointed a shaky finger at him as she spoke, "Why-Who…You _can't_ be right. You…You're _lying_!"

Mark felt pain stab his heart as he watched Lexie furiously swipe at her eyes, catching any stray tears. He shook his head slowly. "I'm not lying," he said, his voice low. "I'm not lying to you, Lexie."

Her eyes flashed angrily. "Yes, you are. You're lying to me! You're a liar!"

"Lexie…"

"No!" Lexie shouted. "No! Stop it! Stop lying to me because I-I know he's a bad person, I know that, but he would never…No. I _know_ him. I know my father and…why are you lying to me? He would _never_ do that. He's made mistakes but he-he would never…" Lexie broke off, not able to say the words. She wouldn't admit the truth. She couldn't. And so she snarled at Mark, her lips curled up in disgust. "You're a liar. My father values his life. My father…he knows not to…"

Mark sighed and took a step forward, only to feel the anger rise in him when Lexie took a step back. He let out a frustrated huff. "Lexie!" He said, his voice sharp. "I am not lying!"

"You are!" She shouted back, her face becoming red. "He wouldn't! He just wouldn't! And, and you shouldn't say that. How _dare_ you. You're…You're all jumping to conclusions!"

"Lexie, _please_…" Mark stared at her, his eyes soft and upset. "Don't do this to yourself, Lex…" Before she got the chance to reply, he continued, his voice low. "Don't make this any harder than it already is. He's gone, Lexie. He's gone. I'm not lying." His eyes flashed as he shook his head sadly. "I wish I was, Lexie. I wish I was lying. It doesn't matter how much I hate the man, because if it could have avoided this…If it avoids you being like this, I wish I was lying and I wish he was still alive, but he _isn't_."

Lexie's eyes welled with tears as she whispered, "He is. He's still alive."

"Lexie," Mark whispered as he moved forward, carefully touching his hand to the side of her face. "He's not. He's gone, Lexie."

"He's still alive," Lexie murmured as she looked up at Mark, her eyes desperate and pleading. "Please…Mark–" Her voice broke off as a sob burst from her lips. The tears flowed down her cheeks, crashing into Mark's hand. "He's still alive, Mark. Please. Let him still be alive."

Realizing all he could do was hold her, Mark closed the gap between them, drawing Lexie's small body close to his. He rested his chin against the top of her head and he closed his eyes at the sound of her pleas.

"Please…Tell me you're lying. Tell me your lying, Mark. That's…that's all I want. _Please_. You're wrong. He's still alive. H-He wouldn't…He wouldn't do this to me. Why would he do this? Why would he hurt me again? Tell me you're wrong, please, please say it. Why…Oh God, please..._Please_…Tell me you're lying…"

Despite his best efforts to stop it, a small tear glided down Mark's cheek and landed on Lexie's dark hair. "I'm sorry," he choked as Lexie's sobs increased. "I'm lying, I'm lying, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Lexie. I wish I was lying. I wish I was." He held her tighter as he whispered, "I don't want this either. I'm sorry. God, I'm so sorry. Forgive me, please forgive me. I'm sorry."


	32. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for a crazy mind. Lyrics used from _'Tangled Up In You' _by Staind.

**A/N: **This is it! Oh wow, I'm scared. This was extremely hard for me to write but here we are. I'm sorry if this isn't what people expected, but this is what I had planned since the start. I've added an additional A/N at the end that discusses a lot more things but for now, here is the epilogue of _Tangled up in You!_ Anyway, read, enjoy, and as always, let me know what you think! (:

* * *

**How long has it been  
Since this storyline began  
And I hope it never ends  
And goes like this forever**

_-II-_

It seemed to be an endless journey to Meredith's house, the roads stretching out before them for what felt like eternity. The drive had been filled with silence, with the exception of Lexie's tiny sniffles. The tears had not stopped since she had entered the car, her silent tears flowing down her face, staining her beautiful face perfectly.

Mark had tried everything to help her but he knew there was nothing more he could do. He would have to just stand there, in the background, and allow her to feel the pain, let it seep through her into her core until eventually it subsides. There was nothing that would stop her from hurting. It didn't matter how much he wanted to save her, all he could do now was hope she found salvation in the note Thatcher left her.

As Mark turned off the engine, he stared at the sight of Meredith's large house and felt his stomach churn at the awaiting sorrow. Slowly, he turned to face Lexie. His heart broke at the sight of the tears that glistened and curved over her delicate cheek. "Lexie," he whispered as he gently placed his hand on her knee. "You can do this."

Lexie tried to smile as she turned to face Mark. Her bottom lip trembled as she whispered, "I know." Her breath fell out of her parted mouth as she stared at Meredith's front door. "It's just…_hard_."

Mark nodded before taking her cold hand in his. "You don't have to do this alone."

Lexie nodded and swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Slipping away from him, she left the warmth of the car to feel the sudden chill of the cool air. She swiped at her eyes in a poor attempt to rid herself of the evidence of her anguish. Dusting off her clothes, Lexie turned to see Mark, his hand outstretched to her. She smiled softly at him and intertwined her fingers with his. Together, their steps matching, they walked up to Meredith's door and Mark gently knocked.

Soon enough, they were greeted by the sight of Derek.

His eyes instantly fell onto Lexie. His expression visibly softened when he saw the redness of her eyes, the watery, darkened irises that looked back at him. "Hey guys," he said, his voice low. "Come on in."

When Lexie brushed past him, Derek placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and tried to smile. "I'm so sorry, Lexie," Derek said and Lexie nodded in response, unable to form words.

"Lexie?"

Meredith's cracked voice caused Lexie to look to the side and see Meredith standing in front of the couch. Lexie's eyes softened immediately when she saw the tears trailing down her sister's face. Instantly, her hand slipped out of Mark's and Lexie rushed over to Meredith, their bodies colliding in a mutual pain as Lexie's arms encased her older sister.

"Oh God," Lexie choked out as Meredith's arms slowly wrapped around Lexie's waist.

Through her own tears, Meredith managed to force out her words. "Hey…It's okay. Ssh, stop crying."

"He's gone," Lexie whispered, her voice shaking under the pressure of her grief. With her face against Meredith's neck, Lexie felt her heart clench and twist and the only comfort she had now was the heat radiating from her once lost sister.

"I know he is, Lexie," Meredith whispered as she squeezed her eyes close. "I know he is."

They stood like that, crying in each other's arms, for what seemed like forever. Then, at the same time, the women pulled away and Meredith carefully reached out to wipe away the remaining tears that tarnished Lexie's face. She tried to smile, her thin upper lip curving only just, before falling back into place. She wondered briefly if they would ever be able to smile again.

"It's okay now, Lexie," Meredith said, trying to keep her voice steady. "He's gone but he's safe now. _You're_ safe now."

"I-I know…But–" Lexie breaks off, trying to keep herself from letting out a sob. "He was still our _dad_, Meredith."

The sound of Lexie's broken voice made Meredith's heart tighten painfully. "I know he was," Meredith said as she soothingly ran her hand over Lexie's hair. "But he's gone now and there's nothing we can do. He…He did what he wanted to do. All we have to do is be strong now, okay?"

Lexie nodded but at the same time whispered, "I don't want to be."

Meredith sighed and pulled Lexie to her for a hug. "I know. But we have to. There's nothing we can do now, Lexie. He's gone."

As Meredith comforted her little sister, Derek tore his eyes away from his girlfriend. She had grown so much over the last couple of months and as he watched the scene before him, Derek couldn't help the pride that welled up inside of him. Although it pained him to see Meredith cry, it felt good to see her comfort her sister. It was the way things should be.

Derek looked at Mark, noticing for the first time the moisture in his friend's eyes. "You okay?" He murmured before turning away to look at the two sisters.

Mark nodded curtly. "I'm fine," he replied, his eyes fixed on Lexie. "I just…She was so upset, Derek. It was if I had taken the world away from her. It was as if I had broken her."

"You didn't do it," Derek replied softly as he watched Meredith stroke Lexie's hair. "You delivered the news, but you didn't cause the heart break. That was Thatcher. He's the only person to blame here, Mark. You weren't the cause."

"I know…I know that, but it doesn't feel that way."

Derek briefly glanced at Mark before looking away. "You can't blame yourself. You were strong for Lexie. You told her the truth and you were there to comfort her. You brought her here so she could be comforted by her sister. You did good, Mark. You didn't cause her pain. Believe that."

Mark nodded slowly as he watched Lexie wipe her eyes dry and turn to look over Meredith's shoulder at him. She was staring at him and he tried to smile at her, but it didn't work as well as he wanted it to. Lexie smiled back at him, and this time, it was a whisper of an actual smile.

Although he could see the pain residing behind her smile, it was still a small, gentle smile. It was a smile that told him she had accepted the truth. She had accepted the truth and she was willing to move on.

She was going to move on with _him_.

* * *

They had been sitting on Mark's bed for over an hour now. It hadn't taken them long to arrive back at the Archfield with the note in hand. Once in the hotel room, Lexie had immediately gone to sit on Mark's bed, the note folded in her hand.

She had been staring at it for an hour, not yet ready to open it.

Lexie stared at the bright white paper. It was lined and during her time staring at it, Lexie had counted that there were eight blue lines before the fold. She estimated that each line was two centimeters apart. There was more than one piece of paper; there was a silver staple in the corner. She could see the groove of the letters against the paper. She guessed he had written in biro. Black.

Mark glanced at Lexie again and then back at the paper. He had been sat next to her patiently waiting for her to open the letter but she still wasn't ready. Mark considered saying something, anything to help her, but he couldn't find the right words.

That was why he was glad when Lexie began talking.

"What if it's just him blaming me?" Lexie asked in a hushed voice. "What if it's just pages of him blaming me for what he did, of why he had to do what he did? If…If I was different then maybe he wouldn't have…I don't want him to blame me because it's not my fault." Her eyes filled with quiet determination as they hardened and she whispered, "There is _nothing_ wrong me. There's nothing wrong with me because I tried to be better, I _tried_ to avoid it, I was nice, I've-I've _always_ been nice, especially to him and, and…I don't want him to blame me…"

Mark opened his mouth to say something but he couldn't form the words.

Lexie turned suddenly to look up at Mark, her words coming out faster. "What if I pushed him? What if I'm the reason he couldn't take it anymore? He didn't want to be here because of _me_, because I-I wasn't good enough, I-I reminded him of her too much, and, and it wasn't my mother he saw in my eyes, it-it was Ellis, and how could he blame me for that?" Lexie shook her head as she gripped the paper tighter. "I shouldn't have been the cause of his anger. It wasn't my fault, but, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I caused him to…"

"Lexie, no," Mark cut in finally, his voice firm. "That's not it. This isn't your fault."

Her eyes were wide and shiny as she stared at him, her forehead creased and her bottom lip trembling slightly as she whispered, "But what if it is?"

Mark felt his breath catch in his throat as he watched her turn away and sigh before she looked down at the paper again. Before he had a chance to speak, Lexie carefully unfolded the paper and began to read.

_Lexie,_

_I'm sorry. I know it doesn't matter to you now what I say, but I want you to know that I am sorry. I know nothing I can say will ever make you forgive me. But I need to do this._

_I'll never forgive myself. I love you. I love you so much. You're my princess. And I'm sorry. Please, hate me forever; never forgive me, because I know I don't deserve it. I don't deserve you. I never deserved you._

_I will never speak to you again; I will never come near you again. You have my word, Lexie. I will never harm you again. I'm gone. I know it can't mean much but you have my word. You deserve so much more in life. You deserve the best because you are the best. You don't need me. No-one needs me._

With her head bowed, Lexie felt the tears roll down her face, all the emotions seeping out of her and landing on the crumbled paper. This really was it. This was his end, and her new beginning.

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I love you._

_I won't hurt you anymore. I won't ever hurt you. I'm so sorry, princess. I'm so sorry. _

_When you were little, you used to ask me to check if there were monsters under your bed. I would check under your bed, in your closet, and would make sure to turn on your night light. I've become the monster under your bed. I'm the one you're scared of, I'm the one that lurked in the dark and I'm sorry for that. I could say it a million times but I know it doesn't matter to you, I know that. Nothing I can say will ever make you forgive me. I'll never forgive myself. I was meant to protect you from the monsters, the demons, the evils of this world. But now, I am those evils, I am the sins and I wish I didn't have to turn into that man to realize I need help. I need help and I know this now. I don't want to be like this. I'm sorry I didn't realize it earlier._

_I will never hurt you again. I promise. I will never come near you again. The monster is dead. _

_I hope one day you find it in your heart to realize that I never meant to hurt you. I never realized that I was causing you such pain. I don't remember ever hurting you. My mind blanks it out and I know I sound pathetic, and you can hate me for this, I want you to hate me for this, but my princess, if I knew I was hurting you, I wouldn't do it. God, I would never want to hurt you. You're perfect. You're more than perfect._

A sob escaped her lips and through the haze, Lexie felt Mark place his hand on hers, his body stiff next to her.

_Every second I wish I hadn't laid a hand on you. I wish we could return to the past. I wish I could take it back. I wish I could take everything back. I would be a better father to you, to Meredith, to Molly. I would be there for all of you, the way things should have been. I know I can't change. I know I'm useless. I'm pathetic. I'm worthless. I'm disgusting. Not you, never you. You're a princess. You're perfect. You're so perfect and I love you. The moment you were born I knew you were perfect and that I would love you forever and it would never stop. These feelings for you have never stopped, Lexie. I will always love you. I love you so much and I don't know why I ever forgot that._

_I love you. You deserve better than me. I hope you can find happiness one day._

_That man of yours. I hope he treats you better than I ever did. It won't be hard. He's a hero. He's more of a man than I will ever be. I hope he makes you happy. I hope to God he loves you. How could he not? You're amazing, princess. Let him in. He'll look after you. He's a good man. Understanding. Trust him. Don't let him go._

_You'll get over this, Lexie. I know it seems like you won't but you will. I'm sorry if I've ruined your life, but please, move on. Don't let me hold you back. You're in control now. You are the controller of your life, Lexie. I know I have no right to tell you what to do, but you need to continue to fight. You were always stronger than I was. I always knew it; I just never wanted to admit it._

_You're so much stronger than I am._

A throaty laugh escaped her lips and she looked up to Mark. Her lips shook as she choked out, "He sounds like…It's like how he used to be."

Her words may not have made sense to Mark, but glancing back at the paper, Lexie knew that these words were coming from her father, Thatcher, the man he once used to be. In these words, Lexie saw the father that had once comforted her when she was afraid, the father that had helped her ride her first bike and looked after her when she came home crying after her first break up. These words were real, and maybe no-one else would believe Thatcher truly meant what he said, but to Lexie, these words were real.

_This_ was real.

_You will move on, and you will forget about me, and that man of yours can help if you let him. He'll look after you. You can't give up. Trust him. Trust him to look after you. Don't let this hurt you anymore than it already has. Use this as a push, a force to make yourself better._

_You're the bigger person, Lexie, and you always will be._

_I'm a coward._

_I'll never come near you again. You don't have to worry about me. You will never have to be scared again. No-one will ever hurt you again. I'm gone._

_The monster is dead._

_Cut the strings that tie you to me, Lexie. _

_Untangle yourself. Please._

_I'm sorry, for everything, princess._

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry._

_I'm sorry._

_Let me go. You're worth so much more. You're better than me, Lexie. I'm sorry, princess. I never wanted this to happen. I'm better now. I'll be better now. _

_Untangle yourself, Lexie._

_I'm sorry, princess._

_Untangle yourself._

_-II-_

**Here I am still tangled up in you  
I'm still tangled up in you  
Still tangled up in you…**

* * *

**A/N:** And that's it guys! I really hope this is okay. I wasn't sure about the ending but I've had that done since the start, it's one of the first things I wrote for this story so…Eek. I can't believe this is it! _Finally done! _I've never completed a story before! :D

I don't want to go on and on, but I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has ever read, reviewed and continuously followed this story. I would like to say thanks a bunch to everyone for sticking up for me whenever I received a bashing for this story. Thanks to those of you who've stuck with me from the start, you know who you are and I am _so_ grateful to you guys (:

I know, given the way I've ended this, there is room for a sequel, or a one-shot continual, and I'll say it now, I have considered it, but honestly, I'm not sure. I like it how it is. But…You never know, I'd appreciate opinions on the idea (:

Anyway, you know the drill. For the last time, let me know what you think, please! (:


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